Plane Carrying 9 People Crashes In Alaska

Misty Fjords, where rescuers were tracking an emergency transmitter.

FAA / Via avcams.faa.gov

A plane carrying nine people, many of them believed to be passengers on a visiting cruise, crashed Thursday evening in Alaska.

The plane was first reported missing at 2:06 p.m., Alaska State Trooper spokesperson Megan Peters told BuzzFeed News. A helicopter crew later spotted the plane 800 feet up a cliff above Ella Lake, on Alaska's southeastern panhandle, roughly 800 miles southeast of Anchorage.

Peters, as well as authorities from the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board, said there was no immediate information about survivors.

"It takes a lot of logistics and resources to get out to the site," Peters said. "The next steps will depend on whether there’s survivors or not."

Peter described the area as extremely remote and the terrain as rugged.

Several people tweeted that the occupants of the plane had been members of a cruise:

In a statement carried by local media, Holland America Line said it was "incredibly distressed" by the situation, but offered no information as to the status of the passengers.

A Holland America ship anchored in Alaska Thursday evening.

webcam.kputel.com / Via webcam.kputel.com

"We are incredibly distressed by this situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with those onboard the plane and their families," the statement said. "Holland America Line is extending its full support to traveling companions of the guests involved."

National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway told BuzzFeed News his agency was looking into the crash, but did not know how many people, if any, were killed.

The Alaska Dispatch News reported that rescuers were tracking an emergency transmitter near Misty Fjords National Monument.

This is a developing story. Check back later and follow @BuzzFeedNews for updated.

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