Exactly six months after a plane crash in Fond-du-Lac, victims and their families gathered for a healing event Wednesday.
The twin-engine West Wind Aviation plane crashed shortly after takeoff on Dec. 13, 2017.
Nine people were seriously hurt and one person later died as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.
Fond-du-Lac Dene Nation Chief Louis Mercredi says the community will likely never have full closure, but they hope Wednesday’s healing journey conference will begin the process of lessening the pain.
“I don’t know if we are going to see a closure anytime soon,” he says. “I think this is a lifetime scar that is put on the community.”
In the immediate days after the crash, Fond-du-Lac made national headlines and there were multiple offers of help and support.
However, Mercredi says the community has since fallen off the radar and they hope the event will draw attention to ongoing mental health care needs.
“Well first, when we had the crash, everyone wanted to help and we were getting phone calls left and right. And now we’re back at square one. We’re forgotten people again. There’s very little support coming into the community.”
A total of 22 passengers and three crew members were on the plane.
The exact causes of the crash are still being investigated by the Transportation Safety Board.
The two-day healing journey conference wraps up on Thursday.
(PHOTO: Wreckage following crash. Photo courtesy of the Transportation Safety Board.)