Canada

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

The wreckage of a plane crash near sits in a wooded area near Snow Lake, Man., on Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012. Seven survivors of a fatal plane crash in northwestern Manitoba were in stable condition in several different hospitals on Monday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - RCMP

Seven survivors of a fatal plane crash in northwestern Manitoba were in stable condition in several different hospitals on Monday.

Health officials said the men, who work for Dumas Mine Contracting, were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries in hospitals in The Pas, Thompson, Flin Flon and Winnipeg.

Media reports identified the pilot as 40-year-old Mark Gogal, who died from his injuries. His family owns the air service in Snow Lake.

The plane crashed just a few kilometres from the town's airstrip.

"A Cessna 208B, operated by Gogal Air Services Ltd., departed Snow Lake and crashed shortly after departure," Transpart Canada said in a preliminary report.

"A passenger who escaped the aircraft contacted 911 dispatch via cellphone to report the incident."

Police, firefighters, wildlife officers and others used snowmobiles to reach the remote scene after poor visibility prevented a military rescue team from parachuting into the area.

Helga Bryant, C-E-O of the Northern Regional Health Authority, had nothing but praise for the community's people who helped reach and treat the survivors.

"The EMS trudged in through the snow. And then local people started showing up with sleds and Ski-Doos," she said from Flin Flon.

"Some plows came and plowed a path so trucks could get in and begin bringing the victims out to the edge of the bush where the ambulances were waiting," she said.

Bryant said the survivors suffered fractures and back injuries.