9 people killed after skydiving aircraft crashes on New Zealand’s South Island

9 people killed in New Zealand plane crash

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Nine people have died after a light aircraft belonging to a skydiving company crashed Saturday on New Zealand’s South Island, police said.

The plane burst into flames after takeoff from an airstrip at Fox Glacier, said Ian Henderson, a spokesman for local ambulance services. The pilot and eight passengers were killed, Greymouth Police Senior Sgt. Allyson Ealam said.

Henderson did not immediately know the ages, gender or nationalities of the dead.

Police said the aircraft was a Fletcher fixed-wing plane of a type designed and built in New Zealand.

Fox Glacier is on the western coast of the South Island, about 90 miles (150 kilometers) from the main city Christchurch.