Ten dead confirmed in the Bering plane crash

The teams are still working to recover the bodies of 10 people killed in a plane crash in Alaska, authorities said.

Jennifer Homendy, president of the National Transport Security Board, said the accident research was in her “early stages” and was too early to say what caused it.

The Cessna Grand Caravan plane, operated by the regional operator Bering Air, was traveling from Unlakleet to Nome on Thursday when he lost contact with Radar.

Nine passengers and a pilot were aboard the plane when it arrived in Norton Sound about 34 miles (55 km) southeast of Nome, a city of approximately 3,500 on the west coast of Alaska.

Among the dead were Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson, two employees of the Native Tribal Health Consortium of Alaska.

They had traveled to alakleet to perform maintenance work at a water plant, the non -profit organization said on Friday.

Mrs. Homendy said nine researchers are on the scene, backed by specialists in Washington DC.

“Recovery efforts are still underway, and priority is the recovery of the victims,” ​​he said during a press conference in Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska.

“I would like to take a moment and spend our deepest condolences to people who lost their loved ones in this tragedy,” he said.

Mrs. Homendy said the recovery workers were dealing with the deteriorated climatic conditions and that the remains had landed in a touch of ice that moves at a speed of five miles per day.

In a statement, Bering Air, who operates commercial flights and Charter, expressed his condolences and said he would cooperate with the investigation into the accident.

The soldiers of the state of Alaska said that it had been notified of a “delayed” plane at 16:00 local time on Thursday (01:00 GMT).

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department said the pilot had told air traffic controlle that “intended to enter a retention pattern while waiting for the track to clear.”

The United States Coast Guard then said that the plane had experienced a rapid loss in altitude and speed before contact was lost.

The images showed low visibility in the area around the time of the accident.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski shared her condolences after the incident.

“Alaska is a great small town. When the tragedy occurs, we are never very far from the directska directly affected,” he wrote online.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy said he was “disconsolate” for the disappearance of the flight.

“Our prayers are with passengers, the pilot and their loved ones during this difficult time,” he said.

Unokleet and Nome are about 150 miles from each other in Norton Sound, an entrance of the Bering Sea on the western coast of Alaska.