Fond-du-Lac resident Raymond Sanger took this photo of the crash site, located about one kilometre from the community’s airstrip.

Fond-du-Lac resident Raymond Sanger took this photo of the crash site, located about one kilometre from the community’s airstrip.
Photo Credit: (Raymond Sanger)

25 people survive plane crash in northern Saskatchewan

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board is deploying a team of investigators to the scene of a passenger plane crash in northern Saskatchewan to figure out what caused the accident that injured several people but caused no fatalities, federal officials announced Thursday.

Miraculously, all 25 people on board the aircraft operated by West Wind Aviation survived the crash near the Indigenous community of Fond-du-Lac but after the plane went down shortly after take-off at about 6:15 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

Like hundreds of isolated communities in northern Canada, Fond-du-Lac, a Dene settlement of about 900 inhabitants, relies on air transportation to connect with the rest of the country.

The ATR-42 turboprop plane manufactured by a Franco-Italian consortium was on its way to the neighbouring community of Stony Rapids, about 77 kilometres east of Fond-du-Lac, when it crashed with 22 passengers and three crew members on board.

The community of Fond-du-Lac is located in the north of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, near the boundary with the Northwest Territories.
The community of Fond-du-Lac is located in the north of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, near the boundary with the Northwest Territories. © Google Maps
‘All bent together’

Willie John Laurent, a band councillor with the Fond-du-Lac Denesuline Nation who was travelling with his wife, Helen Laurent, and daughter, told CBC News one of the last things he remembers before the crash was the plane turning sideways in the air and the people aboard screaming.

“Everyone was trapped on my side [of the plane],” Laurent told CBC News. “I crawled over the seat, because the aisle was all crushed. There was no aisle because it was all bent together.”

Followed women’s voices
The ATR-42 passenger plane with 25 people on board crashed shortly after takeoff from the community’s airport seen in the top central part of this satellite image.
The ATR-42 passenger plane with 25 people on board crashed shortly after takeoff from the community’s airport seen in the top central part of this satellite image.

Fond-du-Lac resident Raymond Sanger, 57, told CBC News he was at the community’s bingo hall with his son when a friend got a call about the crash.

The pair rushed out to the airport, following the screams of passengers to the crash site.

“We heard some noises of people screaming,” Sanger told. “There’s some women’s voices.… We followed that voice until we got to the area where that plane was.”

“They were all pinned inside between chairs and seats and all that,” he said of the passengers. “We cut some metal and broke some metals so that we could get these people out.”

Sanger said the airplane’s fuel tanks were leaking as rescuers worked feverishly to free trapped passengers and crew. Sanger told CBC News his coat was drenched in jet fuel by the time everyone was rescued.

“I’m just shaking,” he said. “My coat is just soaked with airplane fuel. Everybody’s like that, everyone who was there.”

Skill and courage
The ATR 42 is a sophisticated twin-turboprop aircraft designed for short-haul flights.
The ATR 42 is a sophisticated twin-turboprop aircraft designed for short-haul flights. © West Wind Aviation

Federal Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness lauded the skill and the courage of first responders and volunteers who risked their lives to save trapped passengers.

Transport Minister Marc Garneau echoed his cabinet colleague’s praise.

“On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to convey that our thoughts and hearts are with those affected by this accident, and our appreciation for the efforts of local first responders,” Garneau said in a statement.

“The Government of Canada is coordinating the activity of Transport Canada, Department of National Defence, and the RCMP in responding to this accident.”

The government will cooperate fully with the TSB investigation into this accident, he said.

“Transport Canada is appointing a Minister’s Observer who will keep me informed of the investigation’s progress,” Garneau said.

With files from  Guy Quenneville, CBC News and The Canadian Press

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