NEW ORLEANS —
Friday, authorities in the Bahamas removed a helicopter and seven people on board from the Atlantic Ocean after it crashed during a flight near the Bahamas.
On board, were three LSU students and Billionaire Chris Cline.
CBS News says the bodies were flown to the Bahamas where autopsies will be conducted.
Bartow Jones is still trying to accept the fact that his friend Chris Cline is gone.
“Oh, I’m just stunned,” Jones said. “You think about what he’s been through. The challenges he’s been through. The mind conditions he’s been through and what he’s achieved, it just seems inconceivable that he would pass,” Jones said.
Jones spoke with CBS Affiliate WVNS-TV in West Virginia.
“He gave back and he always knew where he came from,” Jones said.
Cline, a billionaire who made his fortune in coal mining, was the owner of a helicopter that crashed in the Bahamas, killing seven people.
According to the Bahamas Police, the chopper took off around 2 a.m., but was not reported missing until 12 hours later.
The helicopter was found submerged in 16 feet of water off Grand Cay.
Cline’s daughter, 22-year-old Kameron Cline, also died in the crash and attended LSU with Brittney Searson and Jillian Clark.
Cline and Searson went to high school in Florida. All three young women were part of the sorority Phi Mu at LSU and graduated in May 2019.
Jillian Clark was from Kenner and a standout on the Mt. Carmel High School Volleyball Team.
“She was a leader. A beautiful girl on the inside and out. Just horrible,” April Hagadone said.
Clark’s former coach at the school spoke with Eyewitness News over the phone. She described Clark as sweet and smart. A young woman with a wonderful soul.
“She was a beautiful girl. She had a smile that would light up. Beautiful dimples. She was very outgoing,” Hagadone said.
CBS News says no distress call was made.
The Bahamas police says they are looking into weather conditions, flight time and whether or not the helicopter was cleared to fly in the middle of the night.
As authorities in the Bahamas remove the helicopter and take the seven bodies away from the site, family and friends will mourn the lives of a philanthropist, three young women and three others who have not yet been identified.