A Canadian acrobatic military jet intended to celebrate first responders combating the coronavirus pandemic crashed in British Columbia, killing at least one person.
The plane for the Canadian Armed Forces Snowbird, which is the equivalent of the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels, was participating in a cross-country tour aimed at boosting the morale of Canadians on Sunday when it crashed in a residential neighborhood. The failed flight was part of “Operation Inspiration,” a nationwide mission to salute healthcare and other essential workers.
According to the Canadian Royal Air Force, the incident occurred in Kamloops, northeast of Vancouver. In addition to the death of a crew member, another was seriously injured. It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.
Footage that appeared to show the crash circulated on social media. In it, two jets can be seen taking off and flying side-by-side before one of them veers into the sky and spirals toward the ground seconds later. The video also appears to show at least one person ejecting from the plane before disappearing behind trees, and an explosion can be heard.
Here’s a video that was sent to us at @RadioNLNews from earlier this morning. #Kamloops pic.twitter.com/hc61YWscmQ
— Victor Mario Kaisar (@supermario_47) May 17, 2020
As the aircraft went down, it hit a house, engulfing it in flames.
“Our number one priority at this time is determining the status of our personnel, the community and supporting emergency personnel. When appropriate, more information will be made available,” the Department of National Defense said in a statement.
As of Sunday, Canada had reported at least 78,000 cases of the coronavirus and nearly 6,000 related deaths.
