An incoming weather system could add additional challenges to the search for a small plane and its two occupants missing since June 8 in southeastern British Columbia.
Capt. Dennis Power, a 19 Wing public affairs officer in Comox, says weather is closing in along sections of the massive search area which stretches across rugged and mountainous terrain from Cranbrook west to Kamloops.
READ MORE: Searchers looking for plane and missing pair hopeful they will find something
Power says if poor conditions prevent an adequate search of one part of the grid, the 15 military and civilian planes in the air Thursday will be reassigned to search other areas.
Power says 70 people are actively engaged in efforts to find 21-year-old Alex Simons of Kamloops, B.C., and his 21-year-old passenger Sydney Robillard of Lethbridge, Alta.
He says another 60 people are working at search headquarters, investigating leads or doing other support work.
READ MORE: Search for missing plane is no easy task
The single-engine Piper Warrior piloted by Simons, vanished after refuelling in Cranbrook on a flight from Lethbridge to Kamloops.
Several thunderstorms have rolled through the southeastern part of the province since the plane disappeared and Environment Canada warned of winds gusting up to 60 kilometres an hour over the Okanagan region on Thursday.
“The weather does create some challenges for us,” Power said. “The search is ongoing.”
On Sunday, rescuers estimated the huge search could take weeks to complete, depending on the weather.
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Another day, another major effort to locate a missing plane and the occupants -
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Finding a missing plane isn’t easy -
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Search for missing plane enters day 5 -
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The search for a missing plane with two occupants continues between Kamloops and Cranbrook -
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Day four in the search missing plane with couple on board -
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Major search continues for a missing plane with young couple on board
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