Asian Tribune Your Multilingual Newspaper covering World and local news News
Officials in the Northwest Territories told Global News that they expect the coroner’s office to release more details Wednesday about a deadly plane crash that occurred near the border between the territory and Alberta.
The crash happened Tuesday near Fort Smith, N.W.T., and the coroner’s office has already confirmed there are fatalities but has not disclosed how many. There is also no word on the condition of the people on board at the time of the crash.
The coroner’s office said Tuesday that next-of-kin notifications were ongoing.
The mining firm Rio Tinto has said a number of its staff were on the plane and that it was headed to the Diavik Diamond Mine, about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said the plane that crashed near Fort Smith was a British Aerospace Jetstream registered to Northwestern Air Lease.
The airline’s website says it has two of the planes in its fleet that can carry 19 passengers. There is no word on how many people were on the plane that crashed.
RCMP said in an email that Transport Canada and search-and-rescue teams have been brought in.
On Tuesday, Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton confirmed the military responded after an aircraft lost contact shortly after taking off near Fort Smith, about 740 kilometres south of Yellowknife.
The Air Force, RCMP and Canadian Rangers were all involved in the search-and-rescue, said David Lavallee, a public affairs officer with Search and Rescue Region Trenton.
Three Air Force squadrons provided air support, while police and rangers conducted a search on the ground, he said.
The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) advised residents that Fort Smith Health Centre activated “its mass casualty protocol at approximately 8:50 a.m. Tuesday in response to an aviation incident near the community.
On Wednesday, NTHSSA communications manager David Maguire told Global News that this protocol was put into place to prepare resources to “ensure the health centre is at-the-ready to support response efforts.”
He said one example of what this action did was to divert booked appointments.
Maguire said he was unable to provide details about the condition of those on board because of patient privacy.
–With files from The Canadian Press and Global News’ Karen Bartko and Emily Mertz
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.