Four die in plane crash in Swiss Alps

A picture said to be of the scene released by Swiss police. PHOTO: WALLIS CANTON POLICE

GENEVA (AFP) - Two Swiss and two Austrian nationals were killed on Saturday (July 25) when their small plane crashed in the Swiss Alps, police said.

The plane came down in the picturesque area near the Gletscherspitze peak, at an altitude of over 3,000 metres, in the southern Swiss canton of Wallis, regional police said in a statement.

Wallis police said a witness had first called to report seeing the plane falling from the sky at 12.25pm (6.25pm Singapore time), and had called back a few minutes later to say smoke was rising from the crash site.

Firefighters and rescue workers flown in by helicopter discovered that all four people onboard, two Swiss citizens aged 50 and 66 and two Austrians aged 46 and 50, had perished.

Police said they were cooperating with the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board to probe the crash.

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