COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Icelandic rescuers have located the bodies of three tourists and the pilot after their sightseeing plane crashed into a lake last week, police said.

       Authorities found the plane on Saturday but bad weather had prevented divers from retrieving the bodies, police said.

       Three tourists and a pilot were onboard the Cessna 172N plane when it took off on Thursday. It was reported missing later the same day.

       "The remains of four people have been found and located at the bottom of the lake at a depth of 37 metres or less," police said in a statement, referring to the Tingvallavatn lake, which lies some 40 km (25 miles) east of the capital, Reykjavik.

       "The planning of the rescue operation has already begun and will be implemented as soon as the weather allows," it added.

       The tourists were from Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States, the Morgunbladid newspaper reported on Saturday.

       (Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard; Editing by Nick Macfie)