Midair collision kills 4

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SAN FRANCISCO: Four people died after two single-engine small planes collided in midair in the US state of Alaska, Xinhua News reports local officials said on Sunday.

According to Alaska State Troopers (AST), two Cessna float planes collided at 2.14pm local time Saturday near Amber Lake in the Trapper Creek Area. The lake is some 145km northeast of Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city.

The AST said one of the planes crashed and burned and all aboard died as a result of the crash. A rescue crew told the Anchorage Daily News that the plane was fully engulfed in flames as they got on the scene.

The bodies have been recovered and their identities were not immediately released. The Anchorage Daily News reported that the four deceased are 41-year-old Corey Carlson, owner of the plane, his wife and two children.

Another plane made an emergency landing at Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage. Officials said the plane had significant damage as it landed on hard-surface runway and its pilot, who was alone on the plane, was not injured.

The cause of the incident is still under investigation.