Photo: Dustin Safranek/Ketchikan Daily News via AP
At least five people have tragically died after two floatplanes crashed off the coast of southeastern Alaska on Monday afternoon.
The incident took place just after 1 p.m. in the George Inlet area near Ketchikan and involved a small floatplane, carrying 10 guests and a pilot from the cruise ship Royal Princess, Princess Cruises spokeswoman Alivia Owyoung tells PEOPLE.
The flight was returning from a Misty Fjords tour.
At this time, the U.S. Coast Guard and local search and rescue teams have “confirmed that nine of the guests have been rescued and are currently receiving medical attention with the condition of one guest still unknown,” Owyoung says.
Owyoung confirms that a pilot is among the five people dead.
Ketchikan, Alaska.Google Maps
It is believed that the planes — a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver (carrying four guests) and a de Havilland Otter DHC-3 (carrying 10 guests) — collided in mid-air, according to the Federal Aviation Administration,Anchorage Daily Newsreported.
“The assumption is they had a mid-air collision,” incident commander Chris John with the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad told the outlet.
Is it not immediately clear as to what led to the collision.
The beaver then crashed on a rocky shoreline, John told the outlet.
The plane landed upside down, submerged in the water, according to theAnchorage Daily News.
The Otter crashed around a mile away and was also submerged, the outlet reports.
The weather in the area at the time of the incident was partly sunny with winds at 9 miles per hour, according to theNational Weather Service.
The names of the victims have not yet been released.
source: people.com
