Rideau Hall honours men who helped NWT plane crash victims

Eight men received medals of bravery this morning.

They were honouredfor rushing tohelp victims of the Arctic Sunwest plane crash that happened in Yellowknife three years ago.

Governor General David Johnston handed out the award at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

Kent Bissell, Roderick Brown, Gregory Van Langenhove,Sergio Rodriguez Sanchez, Matthew Grogono, Mike Murphy, Allan Shortt and Michael Sharpe were honoured.

Five of the of the men are from the NWT. The others were from Washington, Saskatchewan and Calgary.

The crowd at Rideau Hall heard an account of the mens' actions.

"On September 22, 2011 these men played a vital role in the evacuation of several passengers of a float plane that had crashed in the Northwest Territories. Without any thought for their own safety the rescuers entered the aircraft and provided assistance to the victims. Despite the heavy smoke coming from the engine, the leaky fuel and the risk of explosion they managed to bring the victims to safety," read the official account.

The twin otter crashed between two buildings in Yellowknife's Old Town.

The pilot, Trevor Jonasson and co-pilot Nicole Stacey both died in the crash...

The plane's seven passengers survived.