Ten confirmed dead at the Bruning Air accident

Crews still work to restore the bodies of 10 people who were killed in a plane crash in Alaska, officials said.

Jennifer Homendy, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that the investigation into the crash in the “early stages” was and it was too early to tell what it caused.

The Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, operated by regional operator Bering Air, traveled from Unalaette to Nome on Thursday when the radar contact lost.

Nine passengers and a pilot were on board the plane when it came to Norton Sound, about 34 km (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 Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium.

They had traveled to Unalauweet to carry out maintenance work on a water factory, said the non-profit organization on Friday.

Mrs. Homendy said that nine researchers are on site, supported by specialists in Washington DC.

“Recovery efforts are still underway, where the priority is the recovery of the victim,” she said during a press conference in Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska.

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

Mrs. Homendy said that recovery workers had to deal with deteriorating weather conditions and that the wreck had landed on an ice floous that moved at a speed of five miles a day.

In a statement, Bering Air, who operates commercial and charter flights, expressed his condolences and said it would collaborate with the investigation into the crash.

Alaska State Troopers said it was informed of a “overdue” plane at 16:00 local time on Thursday (01:00 GMT).

The voluntary fire brigade of Nome said that the pilot had told air traffic controllers that “he was planning to enter a holding pattern while waiting for the runway”.

The American coast guard later said that the plane had experienced a quick loss of height and speed before the contact was lost.

Images showed a low view in the area around the time of the crash.

Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski shared her condolences after the incident.

“Alaska is a large small town. When tragedy strikes, we are never far away from the Alasans who have been hit directly,” she wrote online.

The governor of Alaska, Mike Dunleavy, said he was “deeply sad” due to the disappearance of the flight.

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

Unaklete and Nome are about 150 miles apart on Norton Sound, an inlet from the Bering Sea on the west coast of Alaska.