Three people have died in a Swiss Alps plane crash after a small single-engined aircraft struck a mountainside near the resort of Leukerbad in south-west Switzerland.
The aircraft collided with the northern slope in the Fluhalp area on Tuesday, Valais cantonal police said. All three people on board were killed, and authorities were working to identify them.
Emergency crews sent three helicopters and two rescue specialists to the crash site after residents reported seeing smoke rising in the area.
The plane had taken off from Lugano, in Switzerland’s Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, and stopped in the Valais city of Sion before continuing towards Buochs aerodrome in the central canton of Nidwalden.
Police said the crash happened shortly after 4pm, although the cause had not been established.
“Shortly after 4 p.m., for reasons yet to be determined, the aircraft collided with the northern slope of a mountain in the Fluhalp area of Leukerbad. Signs of smoke were subsequently reported in the region,” a police statement said.
An image released by local police showed the wreckage lying on the mountainside.
Federal Swiss authorities have opened an investigation into the cause of the accident. A separate criminal investigation is being led by the Office of the Attorney General of the Confederation, in cooperation with Valais cantonal police.
