Four people have died after a helicopter crashed in a small town 50km (31 miles) from Montreal, Quebec’s provincial police have told the BBC.

Emergency services were called to Sainte-Brigide-d’Iberville shortly after 14:30 local time (19:30 BST) on Saturday afternoon, where they found the aircraft on fire and declared its occupants dead at the scene.

The victims have not yet been identified but the aircraft appeared to be a private helicopter, Sergeant Audrey-Anne Bilodeau said.

An investigation into the crash is being led by the Major Crime Unit of the Sûreté du Québec, working alongside crime scene technicians as well as investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

The crash site is located near the Rang des Écossais road off Highway 10, according to Bilodeau.

In an emergency call, police were notified of a helicopter in distress that may have crashed and caught fire.

An hour after the call, the fire at the site had been brought under control though officials were still working at the crash site just before 22:00 local time (03:00 GMT).

The victims have not yet been identified and Sergeant Audrey-Anne Bilodeau said this process may “take a few days.”