Heiner Junior, Andreas Widmann Obituary – Two out of the three individuals who lost their lives in the helicopter crash near Terrace on Monday have been recognized as members of prominent families in the northeastern region of Italy. The helicopter, operated by Northern Escape Heli Skiing, was carrying seven people – five tourists, a pilot, and a guide – when it crashed in the Skeena mountains, approximately 50 kilometers northwest of Terrace, at around 4 p.m. on Monday.
Tragically, three people were killed in the crash, while four others sustained injuries. According to Italian media, the passengers were well-known businessmen from the South Tyrol province. One of the deceased individuals has been identified as Heiner Junior (Heinzl) Oberrauch, a 29-year-old who was the son of the founder of Sportler, a prominent Italian sporting goods chain. His older brother, Jakob Oberrauch, who is the CEO of Sportler, was injured in the crash and is currently hospitalized but conscious, as reported by Italy’s news agency ANSA. Sportler, established in 1977, is one of the largest sports retailers in Northern Italy, with 26 stores across Italy and Austria. The other casualty was Andreas Widmann, aged 35, whose family owns TEXmarket, a textile company specializing in cycling apparel that was founded in 1987.
The Oberrauch and Widmann families have confirmed the deaths to Italian media. Georg Oberrauch, the founder of Sportler, is reportedly on his way to Canada. Among the injured individuals are Johannes Peer, aged 34, who is also an executive at Sportler, and Emilio Zierock, aged 35, a fourth-generation winemaker involved in the management of his family’s Foradori Winery. The identities of the third fatality and the fourth injured individual have yet to be disclosed.