2 killed in small plane crash near Chilliwack Lake, B.C., say RCMP

Mounties in Chilliwack, B.C., say two people have been killed in a small plane crash.

Police said in a statement on Monday that the crash happened on Saturday afternoon. 

They said they were notified that a plane may have gone down about eight kilometres southeast of Chilliwack Lake. 

Chilliwack Search and Rescue sent out a crew and discovered the crash site of the Cessna 172 with the bodies of two people inside. 

Dan McAuliffe, search manager with Chilliwack Search and Rescue, said the crew found the plane that same afternoon.

He said the steep and rugged terrain of the area — a valley with mountains on each side — complicated the search. 

"We were just about to give up when one of our members noticed that the top of a tree was broken off," said McAuliffe. 

Police said the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre was able to remove the bodies from the site. 

The RCMP says it is working with the Transportation Safety Board and the B.C. Coroners Service to determine a possible cause of the crash.