N.W.T. coroner’s office set to give update on deadly plane crash carrying Rio Tinto workers

The Northwest Territories provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa on June 30, 2020. The Northwest Territories coroner’s office is expected to provide an update this morning into a deadly plane crash near the town of Fort Smith. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

The Northwest Territories coroner’s office is expected to provide an update this morning into a deadly plane crash near the town of Fort Smith.

The condition of those on the plane was not immediately available, but the coroner’s office says there were fatalities.

The plane took off on Tuesday from the airport in Fort Smith, near the Alberta boundary, when it lost contact and crashed near the banks of the Slave River.

Mining company Rio Tinto says a number of its staff were on the plane, which was headed to its Diavik Diamond Mine, about 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife.

The aircraft was registered to Northwestern Air Lease, which said it had been chartered.

It remains unclear how many people were aboard, though the airline’s website says the type of plane in question can carry 19 passengers.