Two people are dead after a small plane went down near Lake Muskoka in Ontario's cottage country.

A single-engine Cessna went down at around 3:30 p.m. Monday on Neals Road in Torrance, Ont., which is about a half-hour drive north of Barrie.

Clifford Keats told The Canadian Press that the plane crashed into the woods in his property. He said he walked to the flaming wreckage and called out, but no one answered back.

"I walked down as close as I could get to it, and I spoke, but no one answered. It was engulfed in flame," Keats said.

"I saw the little propeller sitting on the ground by the fire, so that's when I knew it was a plane."

By late afternoon, authorities had put out the fire and have put a tarp over the plane, Keats said.

Police say they will not release the victims' names until next-of-kin are notified.