WINNIPEG -- Two Winnipeg men are dead after a plane crash in southern Manitoba Wednesday night, RCMP said.

The 64-year-old pilot and the lone passenger, 48, died.

"It has been determined that the pilot took off from the Manitou Airport, turned back to the airport, however, for reasons that remain under investigation, lost control of the Red Acro II aircraft and crashed in a lagoon just north of the Manitou airport," police said in a statement.

Manitou RCMP were called to the scene, roughly 1.5 km north of the small town, shortly before 8 p.m.

Manitou is located on Highway 3 in the Rural Municipality of Pembina, roughly 90 minutes southwest of Winnipeg.

The Transportation Safety Board and RCMP continue to investigate.