Snowdonia helicopter wreckage recovery continues

Accident investigators are continuing their attempts to recover the wreckage of a helicopter which crashed on a remote north Wales mountainside, killing all five people on board.

The bodies of the Burke family, from the Milton Keynes area, were removed on Friday.

Poor weather and "challenging" terrain at the Rhinog Mountains in Snowdonia has hampered recovery efforts.

The search began on Wednesday when the aircraft vanished.

The crash site is a two-hour walk and "scramble" from the nearest road.

Experts from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch are on site and it is understood the recovery of the aircraft could take about three days.

The wreckage will then be transferred to its base at Farnborough where the investigation will continue.

North west Wales coroner Dewi Pritchard-Jones has opened an investigation into the deaths of Kevin and Ruth Burke, Donald and Sharon Burke, and Barry Burke - who were officially named by police on Friday.

The Twin Squirrel helicopter was registered to Kevin and Ruth Burke, who are believed to have been directors of the Milton Keynes-based Staske Construction company.

The group was travelling to Dublin, where Ruth Burke was born.

It is believed Kevin Burke was originally from Manchester and was a qualified pilot.

The helicopter had left a private airfield in the Milton Keynes area before losing radar contact at about 16:00 BST on Wednesday and crashing in the Rhinog Mountains, between Harlech and Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd.

A mountain rescue team found the wreckage.

Police have appealed for anyone in the Trawsfynydd area between noon and 13:00 on Wednesday who may have heard or seen the helicopter to contact them.