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Team coverageA deadly plane crash in Central America has struck a deep blow to several Utah families and a Utah humanitarian organization. The fiery crash in Guatemala took 11 lives.
The plane was chartered by a Utah-based organization called Choice Humanitarian. Three Utahns died in the crash and one survived.
The plane went down in a field about 60 miles from Guatemala City. Reports from Central America strongly suggest engine failure and an emergency landing that went awry.
Ten died immediately, including two Utahns. A third Utah resident died late last night of cardiac arrest. All were on a humanitarian mission to Guatemalan villages.
Choice Humanitarian of West Jordan today confirmed the fatal victims as Liz Johnson of Salt Lake County, John Carter of Morgan County and 19-year-old Cody Odekirk of Weber County. His father, Lloyd Odekirk, in Plain City today recalled an eager, quick-witted boy who always wanted to help others. Lloyd Odekirk said, "I just don't know how anybody could help my pain right now. It just kills me. He was my whole life."
Jeff Blake, Cody's uncle, said, "I think he was following his passion. I think he was definitely a humanitarian, and he was following what he enjoyed doing. He enjoyed making people happy."
Lew Swain, with Choice Humanitarian, said, "The loss is great and deep. If there were a word to describe something larger than tragic, it would be that."
Only one Utahn survived the crash. Guatemalan children pulled Dan Liljenquist out of the wreckage just before it exploded. When he called his wife in Ogden, she didn't believe him at first. Brooke Liljenquist said, "He said ‘No, there were 14 people on the plane, and I'm one of four survivors.' And his voice, he was really emotional. He said, ‘I'm in pain, my legs are shattered, but I'm safe.' We feel very blessed that he's alive, and that his injuries are very manageable."
Brooke tried to explain the situation to her five children. "I show them pictures of the crash. There are pictures online, there are even pictures of my husband and his face strapped in, so they could see him, they could see he was OK. They could see pictures of the kids in the field who pulled him out of the crash. And I explained to them that there were other kids that their dad wasn't gonna be coming home," she said.
Dan Liljenquist's father now is with him in Guatemala, and his wife will travel there tomorrow.
The two Guatemalan pilots died. And so did two Guatemalans who are long-time employees of Choice Humanitarian.
Choice Humanitarian is now working to bring the victims of the plane crash back to the United States and help family members cope with the tragic loss of their loved ones.
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