Five people, including a “well-loved” Canadian, are dead after a plane crashed into the sea in Honduras on Saturday.

Shortly after taking off from Roatán, a popular tourist destination off the Atlantic coast of the Latin American country, the plane crashed, killing five people.

The plane was en route to the port of Trujillo on the mainland.

Jose Domingo Meza, a spokesperson for the Honduras Armed Forces, said four of the dead were Americans.

Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Stefano Maron confirmed in an emailed statement on Sunday that one of the victims was a Canadian.

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the Canadian citizen who died in a tragic plane crash in Roatán Islands, Honduras,” Maron wrote.

“Canadian consular officials in Tegucigalpa, Honduras are in contact with local authorities and are providing consular assistance to the family of the victim.”

Maron declined to provide further information on the victim, citing provisions under the Privacy Act.

In a phone interview with The Canadian Press on Sunday, Jenna Forseth confirmed her brother Patrick Forseth was killed in the crash.

Patrick Forseth, who is originally from Mission, B.C., was also the general manager of Carivida, a restaurant in Trujillo.

His sister described him as being “well-loved” in the area, saying “the whole town is in mourning.”

Patrick Forseth was involved in a legal dispute with Afro-indigenous Hondurans who accused him of trying to develop their ancestral lands into vacation properties for international tourists, The Associated Press reported. He defended his company in a 2017 statement, saying it had purchased the land in 2013 and had made several attempts to reach an amicable resolution.

The Honduran military said in a statement that rescue boats with police divers and firefighters recovered four bodies within minutes of the crash, and transported a fifth person to hospital, where he died shortly after of internal injuries.

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With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press