At least 12 people were killed and three others were injured when a charter plane crashed into a large hill while approaching the runway of a remote Arctic hamlet in Canada.

First Air flight 6550 went down in Resolute Bay of Nunavut late on Saturday night.

The Boeing 737-200 plane was approaching the airstrip just after 12 pm local time when it struck a large hill several kilometers away, it quoted a military spokesman.

Twelve people were confirmed dead and another three were receiving medical treatment. The survivors included two adults and a young child, the Toronto Star reported.

The identities of the victims and survivors are not being released until officials can notify their families, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who are taking part in the rescue operations, said.

"It's definitely a tragedy in a small community for something like that to happen," Saroomie Manik, a former mayor of the community, said.

There were two young girls on the plane, the grandchildren of an owner of a local hotel, she added.

Officials have been able to locate two black boxes from the "widespread" crash site till now.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said in a statement that he was "deeply saddened" by the news of the accident.