Two of the three survivors of the fatal Nunavut plane crash are recovering in Ottawa hospitals, as the airline and community copes with the tragedy.
A seven-year-old girl is being treated at CHEO, while a 48-year-old man recovers at another Ottawa hospital.
Along with a 23-year-old woman in hospital in Iqaluit, all three survivors are in stable condition.
The Kanata-based airline whose plane slammed into a hill eight kilometers from Resolute Bay, Nunavut is crediting the rescue efforts of the military, who were in the area for an exercise.
"We would like to thank the Canadian military, whose onsite presence and immediate response was instrumental in the rescue efforts," said Christopher Ferris, vice-president of marketing for First Air.
The charter flight from Yellowknife went down near its destination with 15 on board, including four crew members.
Twelve people died, including all the crew.
"At this time the cause of the accident is unknown," Ferris said. "The transportation safety board is conducting an investigation and First Air is cooperating fully."
Federal health minister and Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq said Sunday she's saddened by the loss.
"It's a very nice community, about 200 people live there," she said. "It's a very warm community, everybody knows everybody, it's like one big family so this tragedy affects so many people."
She said the tragedy is affecting her personally, as well as the entire Northern region.
"I do have personal ties, at this point I'm not going to comment on who those individuals are, but I am affected like everyone else and it's a really tragic day," she said.
As authorities and the RCMP's forensic team continue to investigate the crash, none of the victim's names have been released.
The plane's flight recording devices have been recovered, and investigators say they hope that data will help them piece together what happened.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's Vanessa Lee
