Canada plane crash on Quebec island kills several

 Image caption A Quebec journalist tweeted photos from the crash scene, along with early news reports 
 

Seven people have died after a small private plane crashed on an island off the east coast of Quebec.

Authorities said the plane crashed as it approached Iles-de-la-Madeleine Airport amid heavy winds and snow.
Jean Lapierre, a broadcaster and former Canadian transport minister, was one of the seven passengers on the plane, local TV channel TVA reported.
Mr Lapierre worked as a political analyst for CTV and other Canadian media outlets.

He also severed as a member of parliament from 1979 to 1993 and again from 2004 to 2007.
Officials with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are en route to Havre aux Maisons Island in the Magdalen Islands to determine the cause of the crash.
The twin-engine turboprop plane departed from Montreal's St Hubert Airport.