Britain:Investigators were last night sifting through the wreckage of Colin McRae's small helicopter to determine what caused the crash that killed the former world rally champion, his five-year-old son, Johnny, and another man and boy on Saturday.
The Twin Squirrel aircraft, which hit the ground in woods close to McRae's 17th-century mansion, Jerviswood House, just after 4.10pm, was engulfed in a fireball on impact.
McRae (39) had been flying home after a pleasure trip to the nearby village of Quarter. Police named the other victims as Ben Porcelli (6) of Lanark and Graeme Duncan (37), who lived in France.
Recovery and identification of the bodies was made difficult by the intensity of the fireball but police were able to confirm the identities of the four victims yesterday. Postmortem examinations are yet to take place.
Air accident investigators from Farnborough, Hampshire, in southern England began working at the site after first light yesterday, but their efforts were hampered by heavy rain and overcast skies. Police said witnesses heard the aircraft sounding like a "train" before it crashed.
Frank Gunning, a local community councillor, said the tragedy had "thrown a blanket" over the town, where McRae and his younger brother and fellow racing driver Alister had been raised by their father, Jimmy McRae, the five-times British rallying champion.
Unlike other famous Scots lured abroad by the expatriate lifestyle, McRae returned to Lanark, 43km (27 miles) from Glasgow in Clydesdale, from his former base in Monaco to bring up his family.
Along with his wife, Alison, he is survived by a daughter, Hollie (9). His brother was flying back from Australia yesterday.
- (Guardian service)