The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta said, "Six people have died in a small plane crash west of Calgary."

The police explained that the aircraft, which had a pilot and five passengers aboard, took off from Springbank Airport, just west of the city, on Friday night, and was heading to Salmon Arm, British Columbia. The aircraft was reported overdue by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, Ontario, and the police say the centre contacted them about the plane at 1 a.m. on Saturday.

The police state that a Hercules aircraft from the Royal Canadian Air Force based in Winnipeg was dispatched to search for the missing plane, which was located by searchers on Mount Bogart, about 60 kilometers west of Calgary, through an emergency locator transmitter.

The crew of the Hercules and mountain rescue responders from Alberta Parks, who were also sent to the crash site, confirmed that there were no survivors.

A spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board stated that the aircraft was a single-engine Piper PA-32, and the Board is investigating the incident.