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| Hawkesbury river crash: six bodies found during search for light plane | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Six people are dead with three bodies still to be retrieved after a seaplane crashed into the Hawkesbury river in New South Wales. | |
| The Sydney Seaplanes aircraft was carrying a pilot and five passengers when it crashed at Cowan Creek, Jerusalem Bay on the Hawkesbury river east of Cowan, about 3pm on Sunday. | |
| Emergency services including the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter were called to the scene with police starting a search and rescue operation to locate the plane, which is submerged. | |
| Three bodies have so far been recovered as police divers attempt to recover the other three bodies, NSW police said. | |
| “We are in the process of recovering the bodies of three other people ... [We will] see if we can recover the plane tonight or whether it will stay in situ tonight until tomorrow morning,” acting Superintendent Michael Gorman told reporters on the scene on Sunday. “We don’t know why the plane crashed.” | |
| The plane was believed to have been travelling from the Cottage Point Inn to Rose Bay, Gorman said. The ages and identities of those aboard the plane are unknown. | |
| Forensic police are on the way to Cowan Creek where they will try and identify the three bodies that have been recovered. | |
| “[There] certainly were people out on boats and on the water which is why if people have seen what occurred please contact marine area command or crime stoppers,” Gorman said. | |
| A Sydney Seaplanes spokesman said the aircraft was one of theirs and said they were working with police on the scene. | A Sydney Seaplanes spokesman said the aircraft was one of theirs and said they were working with police on the scene. |
| The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter found an oil slick and several items of debris on the surface of Cowan Creek, spokesman Stephen Leahy said. | The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter found an oil slick and several items of debris on the surface of Cowan Creek, spokesman Stephen Leahy said. |
| “There appeared to be a silhouette or outline of a small aircraft but it appeared to be submerged in deep water,” he said. “It was certainly too deep for us to access it and that’s why the police divers have been called in.” | “There appeared to be a silhouette or outline of a small aircraft but it appeared to be submerged in deep water,” he said. “It was certainly too deep for us to access it and that’s why the police divers have been called in.” |
| The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has announced it will investigate the incident. | The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has announced it will investigate the incident. |
| The company, which has been operating for 80 years, provides flights above and around some of Sydney’s most popular tourist sites including the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Pittwater and the Hawkesbury river region. | The company, which has been operating for 80 years, provides flights above and around some of Sydney’s most popular tourist sites including the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Pittwater and the Hawkesbury river region. |