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The seven passengers who were killed in a helicopter crash while en route to Florida on Thursday, including billionaireChris Cline, have been identified.
The helicopter carrying 60-year-old Cline and six others smashed into the water shortly after leaving Grand Cay, an island in the Bahamas,The New York Timesreported. The group, who all died in the crash, was headed for Fort Lauderdale.
Cline and his daughter Kameron Cline were among the seven victims, PEOPLE confirmed on Friday. According toCNN, the Royal Bahamas Police Force identified the four others onboard as American citizens, while the outlet also reported that the pilot was from the United Kingdom.
A spokesperson for the Royal Bahamas Police Force did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
This post will be updated as more is known about the deceased victims, who are:
Chris Cline.Andrew Harrer/Getty Images
Chris Cline, 60
The Cline familyconfirmed to PEOPLE on Fridaythat the coal industry billionaire and philanthropist and his daughter Kameron had died in the crash.
Cline “was one of West Virginia’s strongest sons, an American original, full of grit, integrity, intelligence and humor, a testament that our hopes and dreams are achievable when we believe and commit ourselves to action,” his family said.
A native of Beckley, West Virginia, Cline began working in the state’s coal mines at age 22,according to CNN. He later founded the Cline Group and Foresight Energy, both in the mining and energy industries. In 2015, he sold a stake in the latter for $1.4 billion, according toForbes. He was also a major donor to leading Republican politicians and previously datedElin Nordegren, ex-wife ofTiger Woods.
“Today we lost a WV superstar and I lost a very close friend,” West Virginia’s governor, Jim Justice,wrote on Twitter Thursday. “Our families go back to the beginning of the Cline empire – Pioneer Fuel. Chris Cline built an empire and on every occasion was always there to give. What a wonderful, loving, and giving man.”
Kameron Cline.Facebook
Kameron Cline, 22
Kameron, Cline’s daughter, was also killed in the crash.
“I still can’t believe it,” Greg Cline, Cline’s older brother,toldThePalm Beach Poston Friday. “It’s like a dream … We were so close, all of us were.”
Kameron had recently graduated from Louisiana State University, her uncle Greg told thePost. She was 22,according toThe New York Times. A family spokesman said she had three siblings: Tanner, 24; Logan, 25; and Candace, 37.
Greg described Kameron as “a sweet person,” and the family’s statement remembered her as “a bright light to all who knew her, loving, smart, compassionate and full of joy and enthusiasm for life and other people.”
Brittney Searson (left) and Kameron Cline.Courtesy Searson family
Brittney Layne Searson, 21
Joining Cline and Kameron on the flight was Searson, a friend, former classmate and roommate of Kameron’s.
“She touched everyone who had the privilege of meeting her with her loving spirit. We will never know what was in store for the next chapter of her life, but whatever she did, she would have worked hard and strove for success. The ripple of loss for so many lives is immeasurable,” her family shared.
“Our family grieves deeply with all other victims of this tragedy and asks for your prayers and privacy as we lay our beloved daughter to rest,” they added.
The group was in the Bahamas on vacation for the holiday, according to Searson’s mother. Searson was from Palm Beach, Florida, according to CNN.
Her family has launched aGoFundMe pagein her name to benefit theBrittney L. Searson Memorial Fundto aid The Benjamin School dance department, in which she participated throughout middle and high school.
Jillian Nicole Clark, 22
“The LSU community is mourning the loss of three recent graduates, along with all of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident. Kameron, Jillian and Brittney were all May 2019 graduates and had such bright futures ahead of them. Our deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of everyone affected,” Louisiana State University said in a statement,CNN reported.
Delaney Wykle.Facebook
Delaney Lee Wykle, 22
According to thePost, Wykle was a childhood friend of Kameron. CNN reports that she was from Washington, D.C. According toForbes, Wykle had recently graduated from West Virginia University and recently passed the board exams for her degree in nursing.
Geoffrey Lee Painter, 52
Pilot Painter was identified as the pilot of the helicopter, according to CNN. He was from Barnstaple, United Kingdom.
David Jude, 56
“David was a great ambassador for the game of golf in the mountain state and always had a smile on his face,” the VGAsaid in a statementon Friday. “Please keep the Jude family in your thoughts and prayers in this difficult time.”
source: people.com
