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| A military official stops press members from approaching the air crash site in Islamabad REUTERS/Salahuddin NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES |
A light plane crashed in heavy monsoon rains on the northeastern tip of Australia on Wednesday, killing all five people on board, police said.
The chartered flight, carrying four government workers and the pilot, had twice tried to land near Lockhart River, on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula.
“The plane approached the landing strip and on the third occasion the plane has tragically crashed,” Chief Superintendent Chris Hodgman told reporters.
“We know that there were five people on board. The plane has crashed into some sand dunes. Nobody has survived that crash.”
Weather conditions had been “pretty rough,” given monsoonal rains, Hodgman said, adding it was too early to determine reasons for the crash and that police were investigating.
All passengers aboard the twin-engine Cessna 404 Titan aircraft were from Cairns.
Meanwhile a Pakistan Air Force F-16 fighter jet crashed on Wednesday in a parade ground in the capital, Islamabad, killing the pilot as he was rehearsing for a Pakistan Day air show, the air force said.
Amateur video footage showed the U.S.-built aircraft appearing to lose control and nose diving before it hit the ground and caught fire.
“Wing Commander Noman Akram embraced martyrdom in the crash,” an air force spokesman told Reuters by telephone.
He was the only pilot in the aircraft, the spokesman said.
The aircraft was taking part in rehearsals for a Pakistan Day air show on March 23.
Rescue teams were working at the site to ascertain if there were any other losses, the air force said.
A district administration official said there was little chance of any casualties on the ground as the plane had crashed in the parade ground, which is largely deserted despite being in the heart of the capital.
The air force said it was investigating the cause of the crash.
REUTERS
