Two survivors “walked away” from First Air crash in Nunavut: RCMP
“They’re miracles that they got out of that aircraft”
RCMP Supt. Howard Eaton speaks with reporters in Iqaluit Aug. 22. Officials said two of three survivors of the crash of First Air flight 6560 were able to walk when rescuers arrived on the scene Aug. 20. (PHOTO BY CHRIS WINDEYER)
(updated Aug. 22, 5:25 p.m.)
Two of the three survivors of the Aug. 20 crash of First Air flight 6560 in Resolute Bay walked away from the wreckage, the RCMP said Aug. 22.
“Suffice to say that I think those three people, they’re miracles that they got out of that aircraft,” said RCMP Supt. Howard Eaton.
“Two of them were walking when the rescuers got there and that’s an unbelievable story when you think about the impact and how much death and destruction were around them.”
It wasn’t clear which two of the three survivors were able to walk after the crash.
Eaton said the 48-year old Robin Wyllie’s “chest was crushed,” while the 23-year old Nicole Williamson suffered a broken leg.
Officials with the Government of Nunavut’s department of Health and Social Services said the Williamson was transferred from Qikiqtani General Hospital to hospital in Ottawa around 9:30 p.m. Aug. 21.
The department said in a statement she was transferred so she could get attention from a specialist, and that her condition hasn’t deteriorated.
The injuries of seven-year old Gabrielle Pelky, who also survived the crash, have not been disclosed.
Twelve people died when the chartered First Air 737-200C crashed into a hillside near the Resolute Bay airport Aug. 20.
Photos from the scene show the jet was almost completely destroyed by the impact, with only small sections of the tail and fuselage remaining in one piece.
Meanwhile, Nunavut’s coroner and RCMP forensic officers continue to try to positively identify the dead.
Eaton said bodies were being moved to a temporary morgue in Resolute Bay and that officials expect the bodies will be flown to Ottawa Aug. 23 for autopsies.
He said autopsies were needed to make positive identifications of the victims because of the sheer force of the impact.
Officials released the passenger manifest Aug. 22, but Eaton cautioned that list consists of people who “booked passage on that plane” and that none of the dead have been positively identified.
Eleven members of the RCMP’s V Division and six forensic investigators from outside the territory flew to Resolute Bay to help with the investigation.
Eaton said Resolute Bay’s two-man detachment, local volunteer firefighters and Canadian Forces personnel were on the scene “minutes after the impact.”
He said the RCMP’s role was to secure the scene and rule out any foul play in connection with the crash.
With that done, the police are winding down their involvement with the investigation as the Transportation Safety Board of Canada takes over.
But Eaton said Nunavut RCMP officers are haunted by the crash, because members are frequent air travellers in the North. He extended the force’s condolences to the families, friends and coworkers of the victims.
“Chances are we’ve all flown on that aircraft,” Eaton said.
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