5 foreign tourists killed in private plane crash in Honduras

Five foreigners including the pilot died on Saturday when their private plane crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Roatan island, a tourist destination on the Atlantic coast of Honduras, local authorities said.

Officials gave conflicting accounts of the victims' nationalities. Armed forces spokesman Jose Domingo Meza said four of the victims were from the United States and the fifth victim's nationality had yet to be determined.

Local emergency services initially said the victims included four Canadians and another victim of unknown nationality. La Prensa, a local newspaper, reported that four Canadian passengersand the plane's American pilot were killed.

Local authorities did not immediately offer a cause for the accident.

The Piper PA-32-260 plane was headed to the tourist port city of Trujillo, about 80 kilometresfrom Roatan, a picturesque island frequented by tourists from the United States, Canada and Europe, authorities said.

Global Affairs Canada could not immediately confirm whether Canadians were killed in the crash.