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An Air Tindi Cessna 208B Caravan similar to this was on a scheduled flight to Lutsel K'e when it crashed killing two of its four occupants.

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Air Tindi is reporting two dead after a Cessna 208B Caravan on a scheduled flight to Lutsel K'e from Yellowknife crashed approximately 40 km west of the tiny community in the east arm of Great Slave Lake.

Air Tindi is reporting a Cessna 208B crashed while en route to Lutsel K'e from Yellowknife Tuesday, leaving two dead. Rescue crews removed two survivors from the crash site, reportedly near Utsingi Point, 40 km west of Lutsel K'e, and sent them to Yellowknife for treatment.

A press release issued by the company states that a single pilot and three passengers were on board the single-engine, seven-passenger aircraft, which left Yellowknife at 11:03 a.m. Tuesday. The company didn't report who on the plane was killed or on the severity of injuries among the two survivors.

The survivors were picked up and flown to Yellowknife at 6:34 p.m., and then transferred to Stanton Territorial Hospital.

This is the second air tragedy to strike Yellowknife's airline industry in less than two weeks. Two pilots died and seven passengers were injured when an Arctic Sunwest Twin Otter crashed on landing near its Old Town float base Sept. 22. The Air Tindi incident also comes a little over a month after a First Air 737 flying from Yellowknife to Resolute crashed while trying to land, killing 12.

"Our hearts ache for the families of the two individuals who have lost their lives in this tragic incident, and our prayers are with the two injured survivors," stated Air Tindi president Chuck Parker in the press release.

Air Tindi stated it would not provide media interviews while the company was focused on its rescue effort, but would release information when it became available.

The Air Tindi plane was reported overdue at 2 p.m., according to an RCMP press release.

Two company aircraft and three helicopters flew out in search of the crash site. After the plane was found, rescuers, made up of medical personnel and residents of Lutsel K'e hiked for two hours into the crash site. One media outlet is reporting the crash site as being near Utsingi Point - about 130 km southeast of Yellowknife and about two-thirds along the route to Lutsel K'e.

"A team including medical personnel and members from the surrounding community that know the land found the crash site," said Blacklock.

Stanton Territorial Hospital was put on an Orange Alert at around 3:30 p.m., as the hospital was preparing for a large number of casualties. An Orange Alert is the highest preparedness level at the hospital.

Even Yellowknife's Fire Department was on standby, should their extrication services be required.

The Orange Alert at Stanton was withdrawn at 4:20 p.m.

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