Airplane crash in Alaska: 2 passenger planes carrying tourists cruising collide in the air near Ketchikan, Alaska

Anchorage – A team of federal accident investigators is scheduled to arrive in Alaska Tuesday to try to understand what caused a deadly outdoor collision between two passenger planes. Four people were killed during a collision Monday between seaplanes carrying tourists cruising near Ketchikan town in southeastern Alaska, the Coast Guard said.

Two others were reported missing, according to petty officer Jon-Paul Rios, a spokesman for the Coast Guard.

Princess Cruises said that one of the planes was making an onshore excursion sold through its cruise company and that it was carrying ten guests and a pilot. The second plane, an independent flight, was carrying four people from the Royal Princess cruise ship as well as a pilot, he added.

Several people were saved, according to Princess Cruises and the Coast Guard.

The two aircraft plunged into the groundwater, where they are submerged, a source close to the situation told CBS News. Investigators believe that one of them has been immobilized in a lake, the other in the ocean. We did not know how far they were.

A team of investigators from the Washington DC-based National Transportation Safety Board is expected to arrive in Ketchikan on Tuesday afternoon, agency spokesman Peter Knudson said. He added that board member Jennifer Homendy was also traveling with the "Go Team", which is investigating major accidents.

Seaplane planes collided in unknown circumstances, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said in an email to The Associated Press. The floats have pontoons mounted under the fuselage so that they can land on the water.

Local rescuers worked with federal and state agencies and Good Samaritan ships to help rescue and recover the victims.

"The day has been long and the crews are working very hard to save the people and find the deceased," said Monday evening Deanna Thomas, spokesman for Ketchikan Gateway Borough, the local government.

A spokeswoman for Taquan Air, an operator of one of the aircraft, said the company had suspended operations while federal authorities were investigating the fatal crash.

"We are devastated by the incident today and we are wholeheartedly with our passengers and their families," Taquan said in a statement.

Cindy Cicchetti, a passenger of the Royal Princess cruise ship, told AP that the ship was not leaving as planned and that there was no detail on how the ship was going. accident would affect the rest of the trip. The ship departed Vancouver, British Columbia on May 11 and was scheduled to arrive in Anchorage on Saturday.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost their lives and the families of those affected by today's accident." Princess Cruises provides full support to the traveling companions of the clients involved. Princess Cruises said in a statement.

This was not the first major plane crash near Ketchikan, a popular tourist destination. In June 2015, one pilot and eight passengers died when a de Havilland DHC-3 Otter operated by Promech Air Inc. crashed in mountainous terrain about 24 miles from Ketchikan. The NTSB later determined that the error had been committed by the pilot and the absence of an official safety program.

The weather in the Monday area included a cloudy sky with southeast winds of 20 mph.