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Canada  

Five die in Ontario plane crash

Ontario Provincial Police are confirming five people have died in a plane crash in northwestern Ontario near the community of Red Lake.

They have also confirmed there were two survivors, however, no names have been released.

The aircraft was operated by Bearskin airlines.

The Transportation Safety Board and police did not immediately confirm the type of plane that crashed, but Bearskin's website indicates it operates only one model, the Fairchild Metroliner, a twin turboprop that can seat 19 passengers.

A person who answered the phone for the Red Lake fire department would only say the crash occurred Sunday near the airport.

Red Lake is located 268 kilometres north of Kenora, about 100 kilometres from the boundary with Manitoba.

Bearskin is based in Sioux Lookout, Ont. and has operated since 1963, employing 300 people in Ontario and Manitoba.

It serves 18 destinations in the two provinces.

It's not the first time a Bearskin plane has crashed. In May, 1995 one of the airline's planes collided with a Piper Navajo near the Sioux Lookout airport, killing all eight people on board the two aircraft.



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