Six people were killed after a tourist floatplane carrying cruise ship passengers crashed in southeastern Alaska, officials said.
According to the United States Coast Guard, everyone on board the De Havilland Beaver was killed in a crash in the Misty Fjords area.
An emergency beacon was activated at around 11:20 am and a search helicopter found the ridgeline wreckage at 2:37 pm.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims, as well as the guests and team members affected by this tragedy,” Cruiseline Holland America said in a statement.
The plane was owned by a private company, Southeast Aviation, and the excursion was not sold by Holland America Cruise Line, the cruise company said.
Passengers came from New Amsterdam near the end of a seven-day cruise leaving Seattle on Saturday, the company said.
The deceased was not immediately identified.
Alaska State soldiers were dispatched, saying the crash site was in a “steep mountainous area” and poor visibility and bad weather could interfere with aerial search operations. Efforts to recover the body were being coordinated, he said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to investigate the conflict.
South East Aviation did not immediately respond to the request for comment. The website says it is based on Ketchikan, and some of the tours it offers include tours to Misty Fjords.
Ketchikan and Misty Fjords National Monument are located in Panhandle, southeastern Alaska.
The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly suspended cruise operations, but in May the Netherlands and the United States announced that they would resume cruises to Alaska.
This is due in part to federal law signed in May, which does not require anchoring in Canada and temporarily allows cruise ships of foreign nationality to sail directly to the state.
After the law was passed, Norwegian Cruise Line also announced plans to resume travel from Seattle in August.