Three Italians have been identified as the victims in the fatal crash of a helicopter outside Terrace.

Italy鈥檚 news agency ANSA quotes sources as saying one of those killed is Heiner Junior Oberrauch, while his brother Jakob Oberrauch was among the four people injured in Monday鈥檚 crash during a heli-skiing trip.

Jakob Oberrauch is the CEO of Sportler Group, an outdoor sport clothing company.

ANSA reports that he is in hospital and conscious.

The agency doesn鈥檛 name the other two Italians who died Monday afternoon when the helicopter went down in the mountains with seven people aboard.

Northern Escape Heli-Skiing, based in Terrace, confirmed in a news release that one of its helicopters had crashed.

Police say three Northern Escape helicopters were running a backcountry ski adventure with numerous passengers on board each one approximately 50 kilometres north of the city when operators lost communications with one of the choppers.

The other two searched for and found the crash site in a snow field. Three of the seven people on that helicopter died. No details on who the deceased were are being released while authorities worked to notify next of kin, an RCMP press release said.

The other two helicopters ferried the remaining four seriously injured passengers from the site to a location on Hwy 113 where BC Ambulance and Terrace Fire Rescue were waiting to transport them to Mills Memorial Hospital.

The four injured parties were treated for what police described as 鈥渟erious鈥� injuries.

A media release from Kelowna-based Skyline Helicopters says it is the owner of the helicopter that was transporting staff and guests of Northern Escape Heli-Skiing when it went down at about 4 p.m.

鈥淥ur staff and clients are an integral part of our extended family,鈥� says Teri Northcott, president of Skyline Helicopters.

鈥淲ords cannot convey the profound grief we feel. We ask for respect for the privacy of those impacted during this incredibly challenging time. With that in mind, we will await any updates from the RCMP on those involved. We appreciate the swift response from external agencies, first responders, Northern Escape Heli-Skiing and our team following the accident yesterday.鈥�

The statement indicated the company will work closely with authorities and provide support in any way it can.

An investigation is ongoing involving the BC Coroners Service, Transport Safety Board (TSB) and Work Safe BC along with the Terrace RCMP.

鈥淭he crash is located in a very remote location which is only accessible by helicopter,鈥� said RCMP spokesperson Madonna Saunderson in a press release. 鈥淧olice and B.C. coroners will be flown to the scene today (Jan. 23) during daylight hours to continue the investigation.鈥�

Two helicopter crews that were nearby when a heli-skiing chopper crashed on Monday in the B.C. backcountry located the wreckage and swiftly rescued the four survivors, a search manager said.

But the bodies of the three victims who died remain on the mountain and a search team is working with police and the Coroners Service to retrieve them, Terrace Search and Rescue manager Dave Jephson said Tuesday.

Jephson said that the crash had affected the tight-knit community of Terrace in 鈥渁wful ways.鈥�

He said crews were standing by Tuesday afternoon to return to the site of the crash but freezing rain was preventing flights from the local airport.

鈥淓verybody in the community knows everybody. Everybody in the community supports everybody,鈥� Jephson said.

鈥淲e were just on a search-rescue practice last night and three people in the truck that I was driving in either knew somebody from (Northern Escape), knew somebody from the hospital or knew somebody who was involved. You know, that just shows you the type of community that we are in Terrace.鈥�

Jephson said Northern Escape was a 鈥済reat company鈥� and the crash and its aftermath had been 鈥渂rutal.鈥�

鈥淲e do a lot of stuff with Northern,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going through a very difficult time at this point.鈥�

An industry group for helicopter skiing operators says it鈥檚 an inherently risky activity but that doesn鈥檛 lessen the loss.

HeliCat Canada, an industry association of helicopter and snowcat skiing firms, says the risk in the activities doesn鈥檛 鈥渄ecrease our sadness.鈥�

It says in a statement that eliminating all risk is 鈥渋mpossible,鈥� but the 鈥渋ndustry does its best to mitigate鈥� it with knowledge and expertise.

鈥淎lthough these fatalities are rare, it breaks our heart to have them occur.

鈥淎n accident like this is a tragic loss that impacts everyone, including the operators, guests, communities and our entire industry,鈥� HeliCat Canada鈥檚 statement said.

The trade group鈥檚 statement said the industry is governed by a 鈥渟ophisticated and robust regulatory environment,鈥� involving regular audits and safety standards.

The association said it activated a peer group known as the 鈥渕ountain community critical incident stress management鈥� to 鈥渟upport Northern Escape Heli-Skiing in their response to this traumatic event.鈥�

Premier David Eby thanked first responders in a social media post, and said news of the crash is 鈥渉eartbreaking鈥� and British Columbians were thinking of victims鈥� families.