Two found dead in wreckage of plane crash in Manitoba

SANFORD, Man. – Two men have died in a small plane crash in Manitoba that took several hours for searchers to locate due to poor weather.

RCMP say the single-engine Cessna took off on Thursday from St. Andrews, north of Winnipeg, and was reported late at its destination in Winkler.

Police, along with a Canadian Armed Forces search-and-rescue team, eventually found the wreckage in a field near Brunkild, about 45 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg early Friday.

"Unfortunately, there were two males on board — a 60-year-old and a 41-year-old — and both were deceased when we located the plane," RCMP spokeswoman Tara Seel said.

Police said both men were from Winkler.

Albert Paetkau told CTV Winnipeg that the 60-year-old who died was his brother, Art Paetkau.

Paetkau is the registered owner of a plane with the tail markings seen on the wreckage.

The Transportation Safety Board said it had deployed investigators to the site.

Seel said searchers used snowmobiles, but weather conditions and visibility were poor at the time.

"They filed a flight plan, so they (researchers) were able to use that."