By Moira Warburton
July 16 (Reuters) - Three people are dead and four missing after a float plane crashed into a lake in a remote part of northeastern Canada, a charter airline service said on Tuesday.
Seven people were aboard the de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver plane operated by Air Saguenay, a small charter airline based in Quebec. The plane crashed in Labrador, part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador on the eastern coast of Canada.
The plane was carrying a pilot, two guides and four passengers on a fishing expedition. It was supposed to land at 7 p.m. local time on Monday at Crossroads Lake, where the Three Rivers fishing lodge is located.
When it had not arrived by 8 p.m., the airline began emergency procedures, which included sending a second plane to search for it. After an unsuccessful hour, the company notified search and rescue crews.
The plane was located by these crews a mile offshore in Mistastin Lake, a crater lake in northern Labrador, at around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.
The cause of the crash is unknown, according to Jean Tremblay, president of Air Saguenay, as are the whereabouts of the four missing people.
"It's still too early to know what happened exactly," he said. "We're still hoping we'll find some survivors."
The pilot was among those confirmed dead. Tremblay said he was 61 years old, had been with the company since 2011, and was "well-experienced," with over 20,000 flight hours.