A small plane crashed Tuesday off an island in eastern Quebec, killing seven people, Quebec provincial police said.
Among those killed was former federal cabinet minister and political commentator Jean Lapierre.
Other members of his family were also believed to be among the victims. They were traveling to the Iles-de-la-Madeleine after the recent death of Lapierre’s father.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that he was “shaken by the sudden death” of Lapierre and called it a great loss to the political world.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin called Lapierre, who served as Martin’s transport minister, a wonderful man who understood the issues and loved people.
The plane was a Mitsubishi turboprop and is believed to have belonged to a private company. The plane had taken off from the St-Hubert regional airport south of Montreal earlier in the morning.
“The crash took place in a field on approach to the airport,” said Quebec provincial police Sgt. Daniel Thibodeau, who described the weather conditions as “not ideal” for flying.
The plane crashed close to the airport in the Iles-de-la-Madeleine just off eastern Quebec. The cause is not immediately known.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is deploying a team of investigators.
Environment Canada had issued an alert for strong winds in the region.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Very sad. Condolences to family and friends. May God give you peace in your hearts.
Dud they have any connection to hillary bill or obama. You bet!!
Can you expand on that, please?
OMG! I’Ve developed a HANGNAIL. How do I go about blaming it on OBAMA ?
if the plane was an mitsubishi mu -2 it has a bad rep must be flown perfectly or it will bite you on the ass in my opinion should only fly VFR
According to the CBC, the saddest part of all is that LaPierre, his wife, his two brothers and a sister were all killed. They were on their way to comfort LaPierre’s mother, at the funeral of LaPierre’s father. Can’t even begin to imagine the grief of that poor woman and LaPierre’s sole remaining sister. A devout Roman Catholic, LaPierre was known as one of the most principled men to ever bring grace to the Canadian parliament. May God rest his soul and those of the others. And may God grant peace to his mother and sister.
Prayers for family and friends
May the deceased rest in the arms of our Lord