QUEBEC CITY -- Provincial police divers have recovered the bodies of two men reported missing after a seaplane crashed into the St. Lawrence River near Quebec City on Tuesday evening.

Sûreté du Québec (SQ) search teams made the discovery on Thursday evening in the area between Neuville and Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, "closer to the south shore of the river."

Earlier, the SQ reported that part of the seaplane that sank in the river may have been found.

In the morning, divers found an object "similar to an aircraft tail," said Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Béatrice Dorsainville.

Another dive was planned later to confirm the object's exact nature.

The Coast Guard was also involved in the search.

The two men had been unaccounted for since their aircraft crashed into the river at around 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, between the shores of Neuville and Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, between Donnacona and Lévis.

They are a 55-year-old man from Quebec City and a 57-year-old man from Neuville.

No potential cause has yet been put forward to explain the crash.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 17, 2023.