At least ten people were killed
when a
small plane
carrying workers to a mine in
Canada
's far north crashed shortly after takeoff on Tuesday.
According to the local press, 11 people were traveling: nine passengers and two crew members.
There is an injured person who suffered serious burns
and was taken to the hospital, where he remains in a reserved condition.
Northwestern Air, operator of the twin-turboprop Jetstream passenger plane with capacity for 19 passengers, explained that it was a charter flight taking employees to the Diavik mine.
It crashed 1.1 kilometers from the end of the runway.
All flights from Fort Smith were suspended until Wednesday.
Federal and military police responded to the crash in the
Northwest Territories
.
Likewise, units of the Canadian army mobilized in snowmobiles and located the remains of the plane, while several rescuers descended by parachute from a Hercules-type plane in search of the victims.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Center in the city of Trenton, in the province of
Ontario
, said that
contact with the Northwestern Air aircraft was lost shortly after it took off
at 8:50 (local time) from Fort Smith, located 320 kilometers southwest of the regional capital Yellowknife.
Meanwhile, from the hospital in that town they reported that the mass casualty protocol was activated while the colonel in chief of the Arctic territory, Garth Eggerberger, said that "there are human losses" without giving more details.
Several of the passengers were workers for Rio Tinto, the world's second largest mining company.
“I would like to express our deepest condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of those who have been affected by this tragedy.
"As a company, we are absolutely devastated by this news and offer our full support to our people and the community who are grieving today," said Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm.
And he concluded: "We are working closely with the authorities and will assist in any way we can in their efforts to discover exactly what has happened."
For his part, RJ Simpson, Premier of the Northwest Territories, issued a statement: "The impact of this incident is felt throughout the territory. The people we lost were not just passengers on a flight; they were neighbors, colleagues, friends and loved ones. Their stories and contributions to our communities will not be forgotten."