UPDATE — Ontario Provincial Police (Jan.13)

(THUNDER BAY, ON.) – On Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at approximately 11:30 a.m. (Eastern Time) the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) was notified by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Trenton of the crash of a small plane. The Keystone Air Service flight was on route from Winnipeg to the North Spirit Lake First Nation.

Members of the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service (NAPS) from the North Spirit Lake First Nation and the OPP North West Region responded to this remote location to assist JRCC in the search and rescue effort.

The deceased have been identified as: Martha CAMPBELL, a 38 year old female from Winnipeg, Manitoba; Colette EISINGER, a 39 year old female from Winnipeg, Manitoba; Ben VAN HOEK, a 62 year old male from Carmen, Manitoba; and Fariborz ABASABADY, a 41 year old male who was the pilot. Brian Shead, a 36 year old male from Winnipeg, Manitoba was injured and survived.

Members of the OPP North West Region and Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service (NAPS) will remain on the scene to assist the Transportation Safety Board with the investigation

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(Tuesday, Jan 10) — Four people are dead and another injured after a small plane crashed Tuesday outside of the remote northern community  of North Spirit Lake, approximately 300 kilometres north of Kenora.

A spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada says said the Keystone Air Services Piper PA 31 left Winnipeg early Tuesday and crashed into North Spirit Lake around 10 a.m.

A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Air Force said five people were aboard the two-engine aircraft when it crashed.

Search and rescue aircraft were dispatched from the Winnipeg Air Force Base on Tuesday morning.

Officers from the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service (NAPS) and the Ontario Provincial Police attended the scene of the crash. TSB officials were expected to arrive on the scene Wednesday to determine the cause of the crash.