Authorities are frantically searching for an airplane carrying 10 people that went missing on its way to Nome, Alaska, according to officials.
A Bering Air flight from Unalakleet to Nome failed to land as scheduled at 4 p.m. on Thursday, sending local and federal officials into a mad dash to locate the missing aircraft, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said.
Search and rescue crews from Alaska State Troopers and the National Transportation Safety Board are working to identify the plane’s last known coordinates, according to the statement.
The Bering plane, carrying nine passengers and one pilot, was possibly affected by adverse weather and visibility problems, according to the Nome Volunteer Fire Department.
“We are currently doing an active ground search from Nome and from White Mountain and have as much up-to-date information on the event as possible,” the fire department wrote in a statement on Facebook.
The Alaskan National Guard and Coast Guard are also engaged in the search for the Nome-bound plane that seemed to disappear without a trace, the department said.
At the same time, fire officials are asking individuals not to form search parties at this time due to extreme weather which could result in further missing people, according to Anchorage Daily News.
Medics with Norton Sound Health Corporation are currently on standby to render aid to the plane occupants in anticipation of a possible crash scenario.
As of early Friday, the plane is officially reported as “overdue” and has yet to be classified as a crash or an accident, according to officials.
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