Rescue teams located the bodies of the four occupants, which included tourists from the United States, Netherlands and Belgium on a sightseeing trip.

The Cessna 172 was found in Lake Thingvallavatn, which is the second largest lake in Iceland, at about 11pm on Friday, the coast guard said.

The aircraft was found in an area of the lake about 30 miles (50km) east of the capital, Reykjavik.

More than 1,000 members of Iceland's Search and Rescue organisation, along with boats, divers and two coast guard helicopters, took part in the operation to search the Thingvellir National Park area for the plane in harsh winter weather.

The aircraft took off from Reykjavik on Thursday for a two-hour sightseeing tour.

It made contact with aviation authorities about an hour later but did not send a distress signal.

Haraldur Diego, 39, was the pilot and considered one of Iceland's most prominent aviators and pioneers of photography tours.