OTTAWA, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Three people onboard a small aircraft supporting wildfire suppression efforts in Canada's Northwest Territories (NWT) have been confirmed dead after the plane crashed, local wildfire authorities said Thursday.
The police, the coroner, and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will launch a joint investigation into the crash, with the Government of the Northwest Territories fully participating, the NWT wildfire management authorities said in a statement.
Critical Incident Stress Management Teams are being deployed to several bases to support wildfire management personnel in the wake of the tragedy, it added.
According to police, the aircraft is a Turbo Commander, which typically serves as an airborne command center to coordinate firefighting operations.
The crash occurred on Wednesday night, about 50 km west of Fort Simpson, a village west of the territorial capital Yellowknife.
Wildfire authorities said they were alerted to the accident after the aircraft was deemed overdue. The plane had been supporting suppression efforts on wildfire FS009-26. The naturally caused blaze began on Tuesday and has since burned about 1 square kilometer. ■