No fatalities as plane with 25 on board crashes in northern Sask.
FOND DU LAC, Sask. — Twenty-five people aboard a plane that crashed in northern Saskatchewan on Wednesday night were safely removed from the crash site, RCMP said. There were no fatalities. “There was no explosion or fire,” police said in a statement.
“A number of people have suffered injuries — some serious enough to require air ambulance services, which are currently en route.”
RCMP said the plane crashed about 6:15 p.m., shortly after taking off from the Fond du Lac airport.
Mounties said the aircraft went down about one kilometre from the airstrip.
Emergency first responders raced to help the 22 passengers and three crew members.
One of the passengers was an infant.
Rick Philipenko, a spokesman for Saskatoon-based West Wind Aviation, confirmed it was one of the company’s planes that crashed, a two-engine ATR 42 turbo prop.
The plane was en route to Stony Rapids on a regularly scheduled flight when it crashed.
“The primary concern for us right now is making sure that the passengers and crew are looked after,” he said.
The Royal Canadian Air Force said it has sent a Hercules transport aircraft and a helicopter to help.
The Transportation Safety Board said a team of investigators is to arrive today in the remote, mainly Dene community on the east side of Lake Athabasca.