A single-engine aircraft crashed on the north side of Dolores Peak, approximately 15 miles southwest of Telluride, Colorado, on Thursday, September 3. A major search and rescue operation is underway to determine if there are survivors.
Remote crash site prompts helicopter response
The remoteness of the crash site means first responders are being transported in via helicopter to look for survivors. Rescue squads in the US state of Colorado are at the scene, with initial calls to emergency crews raising concerns of smoke coming from somewhere near the mountain summit. Reports later claimed the smoke was caused by a downed single-engine aircraft, and this was confirmed by Denver Air Traffic Control via an alert declaring that a single-engine plane had vanished from the skies.
Multiple agencies responding
Deputies from the San Miguel Sheriff's Office, Search and Rescue, the Bureau of Land Management, and firefighters from the Telluride Fire Protection District are now responding to the emergency incident.
Dolores Peak is a remote, high-elevation mountain summit located in the rugged backcountry of Colorado. The crash site is about 15 miles from the historic town of Telluride, in the state's southwest. It is not yet known if anyone has survived the crash.
The San Miguel Sheriff's Office said in a statement: "A single engine aircraft has crashed on the north side of Dolores Peak approximately 15 miles SW of Telluride. Teams are being inserted via helicopters to determine if there are survivors."
