Quebec float plane crash: 4 Britons among dead

Britain's Foreign Office says four Britons were among six people killedwhen a sightseeing seaplane crashed in a remote area near Tadoussac, Que.

"Sadly, four British nationals were on board the plane that crashed inLes Bergeronnes, Canadaon Sunday," a British Foreign Office spokesperson said."Our deepest sympathies are withtheir friends and family at this difficult time. Our consular officersare ready to provide assistance and we will remain in contact withCanadian authorities regarding this tragic incident."

• Float plane crash near Tadoussac, Que., kills 6
• Floatplane crashes on Quebec's North Shore

Theministry did not give the names of the victims ofSunday'scrash inthe rugged and heavily wooded North Shore region.

On Monday,Quebec provincial police confirmed all six people aboard thedeHavillandBeaver float plane had died, including pilot Romain Desrosiers and French touristEmilieDelaitre, 28.

The plane went down on Sunday afternoon near Les Bergeronnes after taking off from Long Lake near Tadoussac, about 200 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

The Transportation Safety Board saidthe plane may have taken a nose dive.

Fire in cabin after impact

PierreGavillet, an air branchinvestigator, told CBC News the plane crashed into a rocky mountain.

"Whatwe noticed at first sight is that there is not a horizontal trajectory that entered the trees. We have trees that are intact and we have a plane that is on the ground that crashed vertically, between the trees,"Gavilletsaid, adding the aircraft was heavily damaged.

"There was a post-impact fire," he said. "There was a fire in the cabin area."

After further inspection on Tuesday,Gavillet said it seems clear the plane's engine was running at the time of the crash.

"We were able to validate that the motor was running just before the impact based on the marks left on the trees," he said. There are propeller marks that allow us to confirm that the propellers were turning."

Gavillet said his team was able to recover instruments, including a damaged GPS and speed indicator. He said it's possible those instruments could revealthe plane's trajectory when it went down.

Police saidDesrosiers was anexperienced pilot and the weather conditions on Sunday were optimal.

The plane, built in 1956,belonged to Air Saguenay. The airline said the plane had a new motor.

AirSaguenayroutinely flies tourists around in the area, as well as people heading to hunting and mining camps.

This is the second time an Air Saguenay seaplane has been involved in a fatal crash. In July 2010, four of six people aboard a de Havilland Beaver died, in part because the pilot took off despite bad weather.