Yellowknife airport worker struck by propeller

A28-year-old Yellowknife man isin critical condition in an Edmonton hospitalafter beingstruck by the propeller of a plane Monday night at the Yellowknife airport.

The man was taken to Stanton Territorial Hospital and later medevaced to Edmonton. The victim's name has not been released.

"I don't have a current update on his status," said Tracy Medve, who is the president of the Canadian North airline where the man works.

"His family is currently in Edmonton with him," she added.

The man was working as ground crew on the arrival of a Canadian North Dash-8planecoming from CambridgeBay, Nunavut.The employee, who was new at the airline, approached the plane and was struck by a propeller.

The incident took place about half an hour after power was cut to Yellowknife when a military helicopter hit power lines near the city.

At the time of the accident, the airport was running on emergency power. Airport officials say the outage considerably cut the amount of light on the tarmac and on the ramp.

"This is something that has never happened while I've been here," said Steve Loutitt, the Yellowknife Airport manager. He has worked at the airport for 25 years.

The Transportation Safety Board and the RCMP are investigating.