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Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigates fatal seaplane crash in Quebec

MONTREAL — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating a seaplane crash in Quebec's Mauricie region that killed a 63-year-old man. Provincial police say they were called around 3:45 p.m.
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A Sûreté du Québec police car is seen in Montreal on July 22, 2020. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says it's investigating a fatal seaplane crash that left a 63-year-old man dead in Quebec's Mauricie region over the weekend. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

MONTREAL — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating a seaplane crash in Quebec's Mauricie region that killed a 63-year-old man.

Provincial police say they were called around 3:45 p.m. on Sunday after witnesses reported that a seaplane had plunged into the St-Maurice river, in Shawinigan, Que., about 150 kilometres northeast of Montreal.

Shawinigan resident René Martel was pulled from the plane and taken to hospital where he was declared dead. 

Sgt. Audrey-Anne Bilodeau says police searched the crash site for other passengers but concluded Martel was likely alone aboard the plane.

She says the aircraft was removed from the water around 1 a.m. and will be examined by the safety board.

The safety board says it dispatched a team to investigate the cause of the crash.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 18, 2022. 

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press