(Alliance News) - Rio Tinto PLC on Thursday confirmed that four of its workers and two airline crew died in the crash on Tuesday of a charter plane heading to one of its mines in Canada.

However, one worker survived the crash and received treatment in hospital, Rio said.

The crash was near Fort Smith in the Northwest Territories of Canada's far north. The charter flight was on its way to the Diavik diamond mine, and the crash occurred shortly after taking off.

Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said he is heading to the crash site to offer support. "We will be working closely with authorities over the coming days, weeks and months, to support their efforts to understand the full facts of what has happened," he said.

By Tom Waite, Alliance News editor

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