The small coastal First Nations community of Ahousat was in mourning late Saturday after a float plane carrying three young adults from the reserve crashed into the waters just off its shores, sinking as residents tried in vain to save them and the plane's pilot.

The four were presumed dead late Saturday night.

The Cessna 185 nosedived shortly after noon near Ahousat, prompting a flotilla of boats to rush to the scene, said two women whose relatives were involved in the effort. The would-be rescuers could do little but watch the aircraft sink.

Locals said the passengers were a brother and sister in their 20s and another woman, also in her 20s. All had young children.

By early evening, many residents had gathered at a local community hall, some preparing to continue with the search, others to cook and offer comfort to the two families who lost their loved ones.

One of the men involved in the rescue declined to talk about what happened.

"I can't," was all he would say before handing the phone to his wife, who said the entire community was touched by the tragedy.

"Everybody's related to all of them," she said. "Everybody's family here."

It was a common response among Ahousat residents, many of whom politely declined to speak about what happened, often explaining that one or more of the passengers was a cousin, an uncle, a niece.

The few who stayed on the phone offered details of a frantic rescue that began immediately after the plane went down.

A young woman who didn't want to be named said her uncle was in his boat ferrying a group of locals to nearby Tofino when the plane crashed in the water nearby. She said her uncle immediately went on the community radio asking for help.

"He's on the air saying, 'A plane crashed and I'm on my way there,' and everybody was on the air and everybody was there right away," the niece said.

"All the boats from Ahousat were there. There were life-jackets beside the plane and there was nobody in them."

Rescuers tried to keep plane afloat

The woman whose husband was involved in the rescue said he told her they tried to keep the plane from going under.

"They got an anchor and a buoy and tied the plane to his boat, but his boat started taking in water, so he had to let the buoy go with the anchor on it," she said. "Then the plane sunk."

The Ahousaht are members of the Nuu-chah-nulth. For them, it is not culturally acceptable to mention the names of people who have died, especially those who have died suddenly.

The local boats were soon joined by a coast guard vessel, as well as two Canadian Forces aircraft.

No distress calls heard

But several hours after the crash, officials with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria said they had not yet located any of the people on the plane or the aircraft itself.

"The report we have is it crashed hard and did a nosedive into the water," said rescue centre spokesman Wayne Bamford. "It's believed there were up to four on board counting the pilot. In other words, a pilot and three passengers."

No distress calls were picked up prior to crash.

Bamford said the plane sank in about 15 metres of water. RCMP divers were expected to arrive Sunday.

Another official with the rescue centre, 2nd Lt. Victor Weston, said the plane went down in a channel of water east of Ahousat near McKay Island.

"It didn't just sink straight to the bottom, it's like a river when the tide is flowing," said Weston.

The Transportation Safety Board had dispatched an investigator to the scene, and another was expected to follow once the aircraft had been retrieved, said spokesman Bill Yearwood.

Yearwood's account of the crash mirrored what residents had said, although he noted it was too early to speculate about just why the plane went down.

"It's too early to draw any analysis," Yearwood said. "I've assigned it as a Class 3 investigation, which will result in a full report and findings as to cause and contributing factors."

Yearwood said the plane had departed Tofino and was heading to Ahousat. It was still several kilometres from its destination, so there's no reason to believe it was landing, he said.

The Tofino-based news website Westcoaster.ca reported the plane was owned by Atleo River Air Service, also based in Tofino.

"We have a plane missing," said Misty Lawson, a company spokeswoman. "There has been an accident reported."

She declined to give any more details.