'All Three Of my generous, loving sons are dead': Mother's heartbreak after her sons are

• The twin Squirrel red helicopter left Milton Keynes on Wednesday afternoon

• En route to Dublin, via Caernarfon Bay, but the chopper came down in mountains

• Aircraft owned by Kevin and Ruth Burke and they were on board when it crashed

• Mr Burke's two brothers Barry and Donald and sister-in-law Sharon feared dead

• Police and a mountain rescue have found wreckage near Trawsfynydd lake

• Weather hampering recovery of bodies and crash site only accessible by foot.

The elderly mother of a millionaire family killed when their helicopter crashed in Snowdonia has lost all three of her sons in the air disaster, it was revealed today.

oeleen Burke, from Dublin, has been left heartbroken by the deaths of her 'generous and loving' children Kevin, 56, Donald, 55, and Barry, 51, in Wednesday's crash.

Mrs Burke's daughter-in-laws Ruth, 49, and Sharon, 48, are also feared dead - leaving six of the victims' children without parents.

They were all flying to Ireland to surprise their niece at her confirmation party in Ireland and were also likely to visit 'Nanny Noeleen', as she is known in the family.

Mrs Burke, who is in her 80s, lost her husband Donal three years ago, and has one remaining daughter.

Search: Kevin and Ruth Burke (pictured) were on board a helicopter that has vanished en route to Ireland from Britain on Wednesday.

Hunt: This is the helicopter with five people on board that has been found crashed in North Wales with the dead passengers (pictured here at Elstree Studios) The ill-fated Twin Squirrel red helicopter left the Burke's Milton Keynes mansion heading to Dublin but crashed into the Rhinog Fawr mountains in Snowdonia near the giant Trawsfynydd lake reservoir on Wednesday afternoon.

A family friend told the Irish Sun: 'The family were flying in to attend a confirmation for a niece and wanted to surprise her on the big day.

'They were due to arrive in for a party that evening. Then word started to filter through that something was wrong during the afternoon, but the family made every effort to keep their composure'.

Another told the Irish Herald: 'We were all a very close family. We're absolutely devastated. They were coming to Dublin for a family confirmation.

'Kevin was a very experienced pilot. He never took chances. He was an excellent pilot and he had a lot of flight hours and he never took risks.

'They only decided to come when they checked the weather, which was supposedly okay, but it doesn't look like it was.

'We were all looking forward to seeing them. We're all devastated. They were lovely people and they were very family orientated. We were all very close. Kevin was generous and loving. They were all generous and loving people.'

The five bodies remain at the 'remote and treacherous' North Wales crash site today after bad weather first hampered the hunt for the wreckage and is now preventing their remains being removed from the mountains.

Chief Inspector Richie Green said today it is only accessible on foot and is a two hour walk from the nearest ‘discernible road’. 80 people are working on the operation.

'This is a very difficult, challenging and hazardous operation but I'd like to reassure the families of the deceased and local communities that, together with the AAIB and our Mountain Rescue Teams, and weather permitting, we will continue to work as long as it takes until they are all recovered and to this end I'd like to repeat my thanks to all those personnel involved for their professionalism and commitment.'

Just over two weeks ago, a separate major search operation was launched here after the Coast Guard's Rescue 116 helicopter crashed near Blacksod off the coast of Mayo.

Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, 45, was recovered from the sea shortly after the accident but she was later pronounced dead.

And last Sunday the body of Captain Mark Duffy, 51, was recovered from the wreckage of the cockpit by divers.

The funeral of Mr Duffy, a father of two from Louth, is taking place in Dundalk this morning.

The search for the remaining two crew, Ciarán Smith, 38, and Paul Ormsby, 50, is ongoing and has been hampered by challenging weather conditions.

The tragedy occurred when the Sikorsky S92 helicopter disappeared on its way to refuel at Blacksod on March 14, as it prepared to help in a medical evacuation mission.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4367520/Five-killed-helicopter-crash-wanted-surprise-niece.html#ixzz4cv4oHpun

#WorldForeign