RCMP say two people are dead and a third person has been seriously injured in the crash of a small aircraft at the Long Beach Airport in Tofino on Vancouver Island.

Tofino RCMP say they were called to the scene at 12:48 p.m. and information is limited but it appears the six-seat aircraft may have suffered an engine fire during takeoff.

Police say in a news release the injured person was pulled from the plane after it crashed on the runway and has been taken to hospital.