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A plane carrying 10 people went missing in rural Alaska during a dangerous winter storm, with search and rescue crews scouring the ground and medical personnel “standing ready”.
The “overdue” aircraft, operated by Bering Air, was reported missing just before 4 p.m. local time on Thursday while en route from Unalakleet to Nome in the west of the state. Nine passengers and a pilot were on board the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, according to Alaska’s Department of Public Safety.
The plane took off from Unalakleet, a small community of 690 people, at 2:37 p.m., and officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, according to the director of operations for Bering Air, David Olson.
It was approximately 12 miles offshore, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department is conducting an active ground search in Nome and the White Mountains, according to a Facebook post. The search has been hampered by poor weather conditions and visibility.
Light snow and freezing drizzle were seen around Nome Airport on Thursday evening, at its worst leaving visibility down to only half a mile. Wind gusts up to 35 mph were forecast overnight.
The Coast Guard and U.S. Air Force stepped in with flights planned to scope out the area and attempt to locate the missing aircraft.
The C-130 Coast Guard plane is equipped with specialized search and rescue equipment enabling the location of objects and people in low-to-no visibility conditions, officials said.
“The plane’s exact location is still unknown. We continue to expand search efforts to as many avenues as possible until the plane is located,” the fire department wrote in an update late on Thursday.
Norton Sound Health Corporation, a local hospital based in Nome, said it is “standing ready to respond to a community medical emergency”.
This is a breaking news story. More to follow.
