OTTAWA: Six people were killed when a small commuter plane carrying workers to a Rio Tinto mine in Canada’s icy far north crashed shortly after taking off, local media reported on Wednesday.
The Australian mining giant stated a plane bound for its Diavik mine and “carrying a number of our persons” crashed “resulting in fatalities.”
Aviation sources said, who asked not to be named as they were not authorized to speak to the press, one person survived in the accident.
According to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, Ontario contact with the airplane was lost shortly following it took off at around 8:50 am local time from Fort Smith, which is about 320 kilometers southwest of the regional capital Yellowknife.
Six Dead in Plane Crash in Canada’s Far North: Report
Canadian Rangers on snowmobiles located the debris of the aircraft, while search and rescue technicians parachuted into the site.
Northwestern Air, which operated the Jetstream twin turboprop airliner, stated that the charter flight crashed 1.1 kilometers from the end of the runway. All flights from Fort Smith have been grounded after the mishap.
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Canada’s Transportation Safety Board also deployed a team to probe the accident. Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm has extended the company’s “deepest sympathy” to families, friends and loved ones of the victims.
“As a firm we are devastated by this sad news and offering our complete support to our people and the community who are grieving today,” he added.
