Two people are dead after their homebuilt seaplane went down near Merritt on Sunday night (July 28).

RCMP say they were called to the crash scene about 2 kilometres northeast of the Merritt Airport at around 7 p.m. When they arrived, officers found both occupants of the plane 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ“ a pilot and one passenger 91ÂãÁÄÊÓƵ“ dead.

The Transportation Safety Board told Black Press Media the airplane was an amateur-built Coot A amphibian aircraft, meaning it could take off and land on water.

Amateur-built planes are ones in which someone constructs it themself or puts it together from a kit. In Canada, anyone who builds an aircraft themself has to prove that the design meets certain national standards and make it available for inspection both during construction and before a first flight. 

TSB is investigating the cause of the crash alongside RCMP and the BC Coroners Service. Anyone with information is asked to contact Merritt RCMP.