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The passengers of both aircraft came from the Royal Princess cruise ship, which is on a seven-day cruise.
The accident occurred around 13 hours. (5 pm ET) when a small seaplane – an aircraft equipped with pontoons or floats allowing it to land on the water – operated by Taquan Air was making an excursion on land. The flight, sold through Princess Cruises' intermediary, was returning from a visit to the Fjords in Alaska and was carrying 10 passengers and a pilot, according to the press release.
The second plane involved was carrying four passengers during an independent tour, the statement said.
The four passengers of this plane and a pilot were confirmed dead, the statement said.
Nine of the passengers on the Taquan Air plane were rescued and received medical attention, the state of health of the passenger remaining unknown, the statement said. The press release did not indicate the condition of the pilot on this aircraft.
"We are deeply saddened by the announcement of this news, and our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost their lives and the families of the victims of today 's crash. gives full support to the guests' travel companions, "said the company. .
Taquan Air, a regional airline based in Ketchikan, issued a statement that it was "in crisis" and our goal is to help these passengers, the pilot, our staff, their families and loved ones and the first ones stakeholders. "
"Taquan Air has suspended all scheduled flights and cooperates fully with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other authorities to review every aspect of this event," reads in the Taquan Air release.
On Monday night, the NTSB tweeted that it was about to launch a "team" to investigate the collision.
The Royal Princess cruise ship is scheduled to arrive in Anchorage on Saturday, according to the press release. Part of the trip, says the company's website, included "a panoramic view of the glaciers" with stops in Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway.
Dave Alsup and Amanda Jackson of CNN contributed to this report.
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