SEVEN PEOPLE HAVE have died after a small plane crashed on a group of islands in the east of Canada.
Rescue officials said that one person survived the crash and was rushed to hospital in a critical condition where they died.
The Mitsubishi turbo-prop aircraft carrying seven passengers and crew crashed on Canada’s Magdalen Islands off its Atlantic coast.
The islands are contained within the province of Quebec and are known by their French name Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
Television images showed the aircraft flattened in a snowy field on the picturesque archipelago which lies north of Prince Edward Island.
Most of those on board were reportedly en route to a family funeral, officials said.
According to the daily Journal de Quebec, the deceased included former transportation minister-turned-political pundit Jean Lapierre, who was reportedly headed to the island with his family for his father’s funeral.
His father died last week at age 83 after a battle with Parkinsons.
The plane was approaching for landing in fog and gusts of wind, according to local ambulance chief Benoit Leblanc.
Canadian news channel CBC is reporting that the crash happened at 11.40 am local time (3.40 pm Irish time) at an airfield near Havre-aux-Maisons.
A Canadian transportation safety board team is headed to the crash site to investigate the cause of the accident.
- With reporting by © – AFP 2016
Originally published: 9.21pm
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