A search-and-rescue operation was underway Sunday, November 02, 2008, after a plane hired by a Canadian mining company disappeared in the Amazon jungle of Guyana.
The aircraft N87V, with three people aboard, was doing uranium survey work for Prometheus Resources Guyana Inc., a subsidiary of U308 Corp. of Toronto.
It was flying over rugged terrain in western Guyana near Venezuela on Saturday when it went missing. Two helicopters from a British parachute regiment that were training in the area joined the search-and-rescue operation.
The aircraft, a Beech King Air, last made contact with the Control Tower at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri at 3:06 pm on Saturday, November 01, 2008, to report that they were commencing normal operations over the survey area. On board were pilot, Captain James Wesley Barker, 28, and First Officer Chris Paris, 23, both US citizens and Canadian Patrick Murphy, a Geophysics technician. The aircraft was thought to be operating near the Imbaimadai area.
Imbaimadai Airstrip
Airport Code: IMB
Longitude: 60° 17′ 0″ W
Latitude: 5° 43′ 0″ N
GMT Offset: + 3 Hrs
Runway Elevation: 1650 ft
