Three people are dead after a small plane crashed in a field southeast of Edmonton on Friday, according to Brad Gurmin, a fire marshal with the Leduc County Fire Services.
According to Gurmin, witnesses reported to emergency crews that they thought they heard the plane engine stall before it crashed into a field. Fire crews were called to the scene just before 11 a.m.
RCMP at the scene did not say what kind of plane was involved but later issued a news release and said it was a float plane.
An official with the Cooking Lake Airport east of Edmonton told Global News the aircraft was a Murphy Moose plane and that one of the three people on board was a flying instructor.
Range Road 232 was closed off north of Rollyview Road as the investigation got underway. RCMP said members of the New Sarepta Fire Department are helping them secure the scene.
The RCMP said the field where the crash occurred is near Highway 623. They said the TSB has deployed a team to the crash site.
In an email to Global News, a TSB spokesperson said the agency has only limited information right now.
“Right now, the only information we can confirm is that the accident occurred 22 kilometres east of the Edmonton International Airport late morning today,” Sophie Wistaff said in the email. “We will know more once our investigators have been on site.”