5 dead, 1 missing after colliding with floats carrying cruisers in Alaska

May 14, 2019, 00:50 UTC / Update May 14, 2019, 02:11 UTC

By Doha Madani, Andrew Blankstein and Gemma DiCasimirro

Five people are dead and one person is still untraceable after two float planes carrying passengers from a cruise excursion clashed in Alaska, according to the cruise company.

The two planes were carrying 14 Royal Princess passengers on a seven-day return cruise from Vancouver, according to a statement issued by Princess Cruises on Monday. The planes collided in the air around 13 hours. about eight nautical miles from Ketchikan, Alaska, to the southeastern tip of the state.

"We are extremely disturbed by this situation and our thoughts and prayers are with the passengers and their families," said the cruise company. "Princess Cruises provides all the support for fellow guests."

An Otter seaplane with 11 people on board was returning from a Misty Fjords tour, while a second Beaver seaplane carrying five people was conducting an independent tour.

Four passengers and one driver were killed, confirmed Princess Cruises on Monday.

Coastguards sent helicopters and boats for search and rescue. The US Forest Service and the Alaska State Troopers also reacted on the scene.

Ten people involved in the accident were rescued by a passing ship, the Innocent Saint. Three of the rescued people were in serious condition and criticized, said a local hospital at NBC News. The others were in pretty good shape.

Taquan Air, the company that operated the De Havilland Otter aircraft, said in a statement that it had suspended all flights.

"We are devastated by the incident today and we are wholeheartedly with our passengers and their families," said Taquan Air. "Right now, we are actively responding to the crisis and our goal is to help these passengers, the pilot, our staff, their families and loved ones as well as first responders."

This is not the first accident of the airline. In July 2018, eleven people were rescued after an aircraft operated by Taquan Air crashed into mountainous terrain on Prince of Wales Island in Alaska.

In 2015, a company-operated passenger plane crashed and killed eight cruise ship passengers.

The Associated Press reported in 2007 that the pilot of a Taquan Air floatplane and four tourists had been killed in an accident over the mountains of Misty Fiords, near Ketchikan.