Recovery crew gets to plane-crash site where 9 people died

Recovery crew gets to plane-crash site where 9 people died

JUNEAU, ALASKA

A recovery crew Friday reached a remote site in southeast Alaska where a sightseeing plane crashed, killing all nine people aboard.

Chris John of the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad said the aircraft was sitting at a steep angle, and three members from his organization had to secure it so they could safely work to recover the bodies.

Eight cruise-ship passengers and the pilot died when the DeHavilland DHC-3 Otter turboprop went down Thursday in Misty Fjords National Monument near Ketchikan. The cause of the crash remained under investigation.

The identities of those on the plane were being withheld while authorities worked to notify their families.

Swollen Colo. rivers force rafters to seek calmer waters

Denver

Rapidly melting snow and heavy spring rains are sending Colorado’s rivers tumbling out of the mountains, so far claiming the lives of at least 11 people and forcing some whitewater rafting companies to seek out calmer rapids and stock extra safety gear.

Last year, 17 people died in boating accidents, including 14 on Colorado’s rivers, after heavy late-season snow raised water levels, said Kris Wahlers, boating safety manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Colorado averages 10 boating deaths a year.

But the deaths haven’t dampened the attraction of the state’s whitewater rafting industry, which drew about half a million people last year and had an economic impact of $160.1 million.

Officials say 2 more are bitten by sharks

AVON, N.C.

Authorities say two men were bitten by sharks off the coasts of the Carolinas, bringing to six the number of attacks in the past two weeks.

A 47-year-old man was bitten multiple times in the back in waters off North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Friday. The other, a 43-year-old man, was attacked by a shark near Hilton Head Island, S.C. Both were taken to hospitals with nonlife-threatening injuries.

Sharks have attacked several children along North Carolina’s coast this month, including a 13-year old girl who lost her left arm below the elbow and a 16-year old boy who lost his left arm above the elbow.

San Francisco told to stop taking water

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

Regulators on Friday told San Francisco to stop taking some of the river water it routinely stores in the Hetch Hetchy reservoir.

However, the city is far from having its taps run dry during the drought.

Officials said the cutback orders don’t apply to water already stored in the reservoir system, which has enough water to last through two more dry years.

The State Water Resources Control Board ordered the cutback in its latest round of notices informing agencies, corporations and individuals holding water rights that waterways are too dry to meet demand in the drought.

Disney bans selfie sticks at its parks

ORLANDO, FLA.

Don’t bring your selfie stick to Disney World.

Officials announced Friday that a ban takes effect Tuesday at all four Disney theme parks in Orlando as well as at Disney’s water parks and Disney Quest, a gaming attraction at Downtown Disney.

Selfie sticks also will be banned at Disneyland Resort in California on Tuesday and at Disney’s parks in Paris and Hong Kong starting July 1.

Associated Press