TORONTO (Reuters) - The search for four missing passengers from a float plane that crashed in remote northeastern Canada is turning into a recovery mission for bodies, police said on Wednesday.

The de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver plane operated by Air Saguenay was found crashed a mile (1.6 km) offshore in Mistastin Lake in northern Labrador on Tuesday. The pilot has been confirmed dead along with two other people, the airline said.

The plane carried seven people, including four American tourists and three Canadians who were the pilot and two fishing guides.

The remaining four were expected to be found in the submerged wreckage of the plane, said Jean Tremblay, president of Air Saguenay, a small regional charter airline based in Quebec.

“The hope for our finding the missing persons alive is very low,” Tremblay said.

The plane was traveling to a remote fishing camp on Mistastin Lake and was expected to return to the main fishing lodge on Monday night. The cause of the crash is being investigated by the Canadian Transport Safety Board.

This was the third crash of an Air Saguenay plane since 2010.

Four people were killed in 2010 and two people were injured when a plane crashed due to poor weather in Quebec. In 2015, six passengers were killed when a plane, also a Beaver, stalled in a steep turn in midair and crashed.