Nine die in US tourist plane crash

ALL nine people aboard a sightseeing plane have been killed after it crashed in southeast Alaska, authorities say.

CLINT Johnson, head of the National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska office, confirmed weather is preventing the recovery of bodies Thursday evening off a cliff about 30 kilometres northeast of Ketchikan.
Attempts to recover the bodies will resume Friday. The plane was carrying eight cruise ship passengers and a pilot. It went missing Thursday afternoon and was crashed against the granite rock face of an Alaska cliff. Holland America said the passengers from its MS Westerdam were sightseeing on a float plane owned by Ketchikan-based Promech Air. The Westerdam departed Seattle June 20 for a seven-day cruise through southeastern Alaska.