MONTREAL - A Quebec coroner says she's used DNA testing to positively identify the bodies of three men who perished in a plane crash on Lac Simon, 75 kilometres northeast of Ottawa, more than half a century ago.
It was long believed that pilot Gaetan Deshaies and passengers Philippe Ouimet, Louis-Philippe Hamel and Tony Chiavazza were aboard the RC-3 Sea-Bee that went down on Nov. 21, 1957.
But it wasn't until a year ago that authorities were able to recover the rusted wreckage, along with three bodies, after it was spotted by an amateur diver.
Corner Catherine Rudel-Tessier says she has positively identified the remains of Deshaies, Ouimet and Hamel and returned them to their families.
Chiavazza's body remains unaccounted for. The men were hunting at the time of the crash.
Rudel-Tessier says she'll release details about what might have caused the crash in a report due out in a couple of weeks.
Last year's recovery effort -- which involved dragging the plane with a barge underwater to dry land -- was one of the largest diving operations the S�ret� du Qu�bec have ever conducted.
With a report from CTV Ottawa
