The wreckage of a small plane that went missing in the United States with 10 people on board has been found with no survivors, authorities have said.
The United States Coast Guard in Alaska said on Friday that it had found the wreckage of the aircraft near Nome, about 885 kilometres (550 miles) northwest of Anchorage.
Coastguard spokesperson Mike Salerno told a news conference that two of its personnel had gotten close enough to the wreckage to see three bodies inside.
“Unfortunately, it does not appear to be a survivable crash,” Salerno said.
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said he and his wife were “heartbroken”.
“Our prayers are with the families, friends, and communities mourning this tragedy,” Dunleavy said on X.
“We are grateful to the search teams who worked tirelessly to locate the aircraft. I ask all Alaskans to keep those affected in their thoughts and prayers.”
Senator Lisa Murkowski, who represents Alaska, also expressed her sadness at the news.
“Alaska is a big small town. When tragedy strikes, we’re never far removed from the Alaskans directly impacted. But that also means we come together as a community to grieve and heal,” Murkowski said on X.
The privately operated Cessna 208B Grand Caravan carrying nine passengers and one pilot went missing on Thursday afternoon while en route from Unalakleet to Nome.
The plane’s last known location was over a stretch of water about 50 kilometres (30 miles) southeast of Nome.
The crash is the third aviation disaster in the US in little over a week.
On January 28, a regional commercial jetliner collided midair with a US army helicopter near Washington, DC, killing 67 people.
Two days later, a medical transportation plane crashed into a busy Philadelphia neighbourhood, killing the six people on board and one person on the ground.
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