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Hawkesbury river crash: six bodies found during search for light plane Britons feared dead after sea plane crashes near Sydney
(about 1 hour later)
Six people are dead with three bodies still to be retrieved after a seaplane crashed into the Hawkesbury river in New South Wales. Four Britons are feared dead after a sea plane crashed near Sydney, Australia.
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. New South Wales police said divers had recovered six bodies from the scene and an investigation was under way to identify the victims and determine the cause of the crash.
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. Six people including the pilot were on board the plane when it crashed into the Hawkesbury river near Cowan, north of Sydney, at about 3.10pm (0410 GMT) on Sunday, police said.
Three bodies have so far been recovered as police divers attempt to recover the other three bodies, NSW police said. Local reports said four Britons were among the dead.
“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 Foreign Office was unable to confirm any details of the crash but said British officials are in contact with authorities in Sydney.
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. A spokeswoman said: “Officials from the British consulate are in contact with local authorities in relation to a sea plane accident near Sydney.
Forensic police are on the way to Cowan Creek where they will try and identify the three bodies that have been recovered. “We stand ready to provide consular assistance.”
“[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.
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.”
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 Sydney Seaplanes aircraft was believed to have been travelling from the Cottage Point Inn to Rose Bay, a police spokesman said.
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.