One person has died and nine are still missing, including a child, after a seaplane crashed north of Seattle in the northwestern United States on Sunday, the US Coast Guard said.
The plane had departed from Friday Harbor, a popular tourist destination in the San Juan Islands, Washington State, and was bound for the town of Renton, in the same state.
The plane was airborne for just 19 minutes before crashing into Mutiny Bay for reasons still unknown at approximately 3:11 PM (11:11 PM on Sunday in Lisbon).
Initially, the US authorities indicated on the social network Twitter that there were nine people on board, but later they said that there were ten people on the plane.
#correction – The Coast Guard is looking for 10 people involved in the accident (9 adults and 1 child). In addition, the plane was on its way to Renton.
— USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) September 5, 2022
Washington authorities have established a security perimeter at the site, 40 miles from Seattle, where several emergency teams have been deployed, as well as four boats, a helicopter and a plane.
In May 2019, six people were killed in a mid-air collision between two tourist seaplanes in Alaska.
The planes, based in Ketchikan, carrying passengers from the same cruise ship, the Princess Royal, were returning from flights through Misty Fjords, which are considered national monuments of the United States.
A heartbreaking day on Whidbey Island after a seaplane carrying 10 people, including a child, crashed into Mutiny Bay. The Coast Guard and first responders are searching for the plane until further notice. So far 1 person has been recovered. @komonews #konews pic.twitter.com/LnO8xFRmil
— Tammy Mutasa (@TammyKOMO) September 5, 2022
Source: DN
