Four Rio Tinto employees among six deaths in plane crash near Diavik Mine

January 24, 2024

Rio Tinto announced that four team members of its Diavik diamond mine in Canada died in a plane crash Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada. Two airline crew members were also killed in the crash.

Rio Tinto said another of its employees survived the crash and was being treated for injuries in a hospital.

Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said: “We are feeling numb with the devastating news that we have lost dear friends and colleagues. I extend our deepest sympathy to the families, friends, and loved ones of those who have been affected by this tragedy. I am heading to the Northwest Territories to be with our team and to offer our full support.

“We will be working closely with authorities over the coming days, weeks and months, to support their efforts to understand the full facts of what has happened.”

“It is with a heavy heart that I express my deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of those who were aboard the Northwestern Air flight that crashed outside of Fort Smith today," Premier of the Northwest Territories said R.J. Simpson.

Canada's public broadcaster CBC reported that the plane crashed about 500 m (1,640 ft) from the end of the Fort Smith Regional Airport's runway. Joint Rescue Coordination Center Trenton said it lost contact with the plane shortly after take-off.

Rio Tinto's Diavik Diamond Mine is about 300 km (186 miles) northeast of Yellowknife. According to the company's website, it has been in operation since 2003.

The incident has been "very devastating" for the close-knit community, said Fort Smith's deputy mayor Dianna Korol.

"Everybody has a little piece — or somebody that they know," Korol told the CBC.

Both the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are investigating the crash.
The crash comes a day after three people were killed and four others seriously injured in a helicopter crash in neighboring British Columbia.

 

 

Related article search: