Seven people died in a plane crash in the Magdalene Islands, in the Gulf of St-Lawrence, Quebec provincial police confirmed Tuesday afternoon.
Radio-Canada reported that Jean Lapierre, a well-known Quebec broadcaster, political commentator and former federal transport minister in the government of Paul Martin, was among the dead.
Lapierre was born in the Magdalen Islands, also known in Frence as Îles-de-la-Madeleine, in 1956.
‘Bridge-builder’ mourned
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said Lapierre’s death leaves a big void in Quebec media and politics.
“As a columnist he was also there to become a bridge-builder,” Coderre said reacting to the news of Lapierre’s passing. “As a great Montrealer he was there to make sure that the English community or the French community… he was there to build bridges. It’s a big loss politically, it’s a big loss for communications, it’s a big loss, period.”
The plane crashed as it approached an airfield near Havre-aux-Maisons around 11:40 a.m. AT (15:40 GMT), authorities said.
Quebec provincial police said the plane was privately owned, and seven people were on board at the time of the crash.
According to Transport Canada, the Mitsubishi Model MU-2B-60 turboprop plane built in 1982 left the St-Hubert Airport on the South Shore of Montreal on Tuesday morning.
We are launching a full investigation into the aircraft accident near #ilesdelamadeleine airport https://t.co/G2u46woXv4
— TSB of Canada (@TSBCanada) March 29, 2016
Provincial police said it was windy and snowing heavily at the time of the crash. Police are still investigating the cause of the crash, as well as trying to confirm the identities of all those on board.
Plane broke into 3 pieces
Jules Deslauriers moved to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine last October. The crash happened a few hundred metres in front of his house.
“I could see the nose, I could see part of the fuselage and I could see part of the tail as if the plane was broken in three,” he said.
Another witness, Diane Vigneault, saw the plane go down in front of her home. She said the impact of the crash was so powerful, she immediately worried about the safety of those on board.
“I heard the sound of a plane flying low, low, low. I said to myself, ‘That plane is so low.’ I cried, I didn’t know what else to do. I saw people running. My goal was to call 911,” Vigneault said.
Earlier Tuesday morning, some commercial flights had been cancelled because of heavy fog.
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