Float plane crash victim identified as former B.C. MLA Harold Long

VICTORIA – A former member of B.C. legislative assembly, Harold Long, has been identified as the victim in a float plane crash off Vancouver Island.

The BC Coroners Service says Long was the pilot and sole occupant of a Beaver float plane that overturned in Bute Inlet, northeast of Campbell River, yesterday afternoon.

Long died at the scene and his body was recovered later in the day.

Long, who was 72, served as a Social Credit member in theMackenzie riding from 1986 to 1991, and again as a Liberal MLA for the riding of Powell River-Sunshine Coast from 2001 to 2005.

Premier Christy Clark said she was saddened to hear of Long’s death and says he always embraced life with a great spirit and worked hard to make the province a better place.

The BC Coroners Service, the Transportation Safety Board and the RCMP continue to investigate this death.