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Video: Small plane crashes beside inn near Chilliwack airport, 3 confirmed dead

The plane is owned by a flight school in Langley.

UPDATE 3:55 p.m.

Police have confirmed three people have died in the crash.

Additional details are not known at this stage.

ORIGINAL 3:15 p.m.

Haylie Morris was operating a forklift Friday at work in Chilliwack, B.C., when a small plane passed by right in front of her. 

She said she knew immediately it was much too close to the ground. 

"I jumped off the forklift and started running and I saw it go into the forest across the street, crash through the trees, and then the trees blocked me from seeing it hit the hotel, but when I ran over, I saw that it had hit the side of the hotel, or at least just in front of it."

The plane came down behind the Chilliwack Motor Inn, just south of the airport. 

The Transportation Safety Board said it is deploying a team of investigators to the crash site of the Piper PA34 plane. It gave no other details about the crash.

Morris didn't have her cellphone and said she began yelling for someone to call 911, then she ran towards the crash. 

"I was running in that direction, but the trees are just filled with blackberries, so there was a very thick layer of blackberries that we couldn't get past," Morris said.

The registration number on the plane's tail, seen in local media photos, indicates the aircraft is owned by SkyQuest Aviation, a flight school based in Langley.

It's not known how many people were aboard, but the twin-engine Piper Seneca model can carry a pilot and up to six passengers.

SkyQuest Aviation said in an email statement that it was looking into the crash, but had no comment at this time. 

Neither fire services nor the RCMP were immediately available to comment on the crash. 

Morris said she watched first responders head to the crash site in the wrong direction before she and a co-worker pointed them the right way. 

She said there is a lot of aircraft activity in the area because it's so close to the Chilliwack airport.

Morris said she was shaken by what she saw. 

"I don't think I've ran that fast or had my heart beating that fast in a while."

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