RESOLUTE BAY, NUNAVUT — Rotting food and strong winds are attracting hungry polar bears to the wreckage of a deadly Arctic plane crash.
Along with passengers and crew, the chartered First Air jet coming from Yellowknife was carrying 2,250 kilograms of food from when it crashed into a hillside near the Resolute airport on Saturday.
Twelve people died and three survived.
RCMP Sgt. Paul Solomon said Wednesday that the smell of rotting food and produce, scattered about for five days, has drawn at least two big beasts to the area.
“The wind we're having up here right now is blowing the scent,” he said. “We're doing everything we can to scare the bears away.
“So far we've been lucky.”
Members of the Rangers, a reserve unit with the Canadian army, have used noise devices and set up “predator security” around the area, said Solomon.
More bears are likely to come sniffing around, because the site cannot be cleaned up or disturbed, he added.
Human remains were removed from the crash site Tuesday and taken to a temporary morgue in Resolute. Mounties don't expect to finish their search of the area for another day or two.
The site will then be handed over to 23 investigators from the Transportation Safety Board. It's not known how long they will need to study the wreckage.
No cause for the crash has been determined, but witnesses have said there was fog and low cloud at the time the 737 jet came in for its landing.
Gabrielle Pelky, a seven-year-old girl who miraculously walked away from the crash, told investigators the plane was flying along just fine before it crashed into the hill near the runway.
The child's statement was the first indication that passengers had no warning the plane was in trouble.
RCMP Supt. Howard Eaton said the girl remembers sitting on the plane with her younger sister, who would die in the crash, and employees of her grandfather's hotel in Resolute.
All of a sudden, there was a bang.
“They didn't know they were in trouble,” said Eaton. “They were flying along one minute, and the next minute they're on the hill.”
Nicole Williamson, a 23-year-old Carleton University student, managed to walk away from the crash. She found Gabrielle, who had a broken leg, crying and sitting on a rock. Williamson carried her to safety.
Eaton said investigators have talked with both Williamson and the girl, but he doesn't believe the third survivor is well enough to be interviewed.
Robin Wyllie, 48, had his chest crushed in the crash and is on too much medication to speak clearly about what happened.
“I think he's doing fine now,” Eaton said “He's going to make a recovery.”
The survivors were transported to Ottawa for medical treatment. Eaton said one investigator who interviewed Gabrielle in hospital was impressed with her maturity.
“She's seven going on 20,” said Eaton. “She just gave a really good statement and spoke really easily about the incident.”
All of the remains will soon be flown to Ottawa where dental records, DNA and fingerprints will be used to officially identify them, said Eaton.
“The victims have all been through trauma, so they may not be recognizable, even to family.”
Eaton said the remains will then be released to relatives.
Dan Adamus, board president with the Air Line Pilots Association, said the union has been granted observer status in the crash investigation.
“Like all Canadians, we want to know what caused the Flight 6560 accident so that we can learn from it and prevent anything similar from happening again.”
Source: http://www.thestar.com
Source: http://www.thestar.com
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