Resolute crash families meet Harper - Action News
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Resolute crash families meet Harper

The remains of all 12 people who died in the crash of First Air Flight 65-60 have been examined at a temporary morgue in Resolute, Nunavut, but 11 have had to be flown to Ottawa for further examination, the RCMP say.

Mounties documenting debris rely on Rangers to keep bears away

Prime Minister Stephen Harper met Thursday withfamilies who lost loved ones in the crash of First Air Flight 6560 in Nunavut.

The meeting was private and took place in Yellowknife, where Harper spent the third day of his annual summer tour ofnorthern communities.

He beganthe tour in Resolute, where a Boeing 737-200 slammed into a hill near the airport last Saturday, killing 12 of the 15 people on board.

The remains of all 12 who died have been examined at a temporary morgue in Resolute, but 11 have had to be flown to Ottawa for identification, the RCMP said Thursday.

Only one victims remains have been positively identified and returned to herfamily in Resolute, the RCMP said in a news release Thursday. A name was not released, but the victim is believed to be six year-old Cheyenne Eckalook.

Cheyenne was travelling to Resolute with hersister, Gabrielle Pelky, 7, after a summer visit to British Columbia.Gabrielle survived the crashwith a broken leg and cuts to her face.

Two other passengers Robin Wyllie, 48, andNicole Williamson, 23 also survived.

Rotting food attracts bears

RCMP say a grid search for debris is now underway around the crash site. Officers are documenting all debris, includingthe personalbelongings of the passengers. These will be returned to families after the investigation.

Since the plane crashed,officershave relied on the Rangers, a reserve unit of the Canadian Forces, to frighten away polar bears drawn to the site by the smell of rotting food, the RCMP said.

The plane left Yellowknife with more than 2,000 kilograms of food, and whats left of it has attracted at least two bears, RCMP Sgt. Paul Solomon said.

Among the victims of the crash were allfour crew members, two men who had survived an earlier crash in the North, a Manitoba-based expert on the Arctic, and several East Coast residents.