Victim of Welsh helicopter crash had strong Mayo connections

CRASH
The red marker signifies the Rhinog mountains, the area of Snowdonia National Park in North Wales where the helicopter was found earlier today.
Pic via Google Maps

Edwin McGreal

The discovery of five bodies in Wales following a helicopter accident has sent shockwaves through the north Mayo areas of Lacken and Ballycastle.
One of the deceased is believed to be Kevin Bourke (57), who has strong connections with the north Mayo region. It is understood that the other four people who perished in the crash were all related to Mr Bourke.  
His father Dónal is a native of Kilcummin in the parish of Lacken and the family still have a holiday home there. Kevin’s uncle, Michael Bourke, lives in Heathfield, Ballycastle and a number of Kevin’s cousins live in the area.
Kilcummin is best known as the location where General Humbert landed his French troops in 1798.
Michael Bourke has been heavily involved in the local community over many years and is a former chairperson of the Ballycastle/Belderrig Development Company.
North Wales Police confirmed that the bodies of five people and the helicopter were found this morning.
Mountain rescue teams found the wreckage of the helicopter in the Rhinog Mountains, in the Snowdonia area of north Wales.
The privately owned Twin Squirrel red helicopter is believed to have left Milton Keynes, England on Wednesday, en route to Dublin, via Caernarfon Bay in north Wales. The helicopter’s registered owners are Kevin Bourke and his wife Ruth. Mr Bourke was a director of a construction firm, Tubular Erectors Limited, in Milton Keynes.
Radar contact with the aircraft was lost on Wednesday afternoon and the Coastguard was notified to commence a search operation at 4.15pm. A huge search took place in the Caernarfon Bay area.
North Wales Police said the exact location of the wreckage is not being revealed at this time ‘to allow a dignified and unhindered recovery of the bodies in what is described as very difficult and challenging terrain’.  
“The aircraft, a red Twin Squirrel helicopter had failed to arrive in Dublin from Luton yesterday afternoon instigating a full sea and then land search and rescue operation. Initially, its last known position was believed ‘over sea’ in the Caernarfon Bay area but this was then narrowed to a land based search co-ordinated by North Wales Police in Snowdonia involving all local and RAF Mountain Rescue Teams. Local conditions were described as atrocious with visibility down to less than 10 metres in places. My thanks go out to the professionalism and commitment of all those personnel involved in this operation,” said Superintendent Gareth Evans of North Wales Police.