San Fransisco: Two men were presumed dead after a small plane crashed into Crescent Lake on the Kenai Peninsula, US state of Alaska, state troopers said.
Two hikers witnessed the crash and reported it to troopers on Tuesday afternoon. The rescue team took a helicopter and a float plane to the area and located debris in the lake, with no signs of survivors in the water or on the shore, reported Xinhua news agency, citing troopers.
The two men were identified Wednesday evening as 46-year-old Anchorage resident Mark Sletten and 41-year-old Utah resident Paul Kondrat.
Efforts to recover their bodies were underway on Wednesday. A Piper PA-18 Super Cub plane with two men aboard had been reported overdue in the area.
The plane had departed from Moose Pass and was expected to return to the same area, according to troopers’ spokesman Austin McDaniel. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.