Sweden plane crash: Nine dead after plane smashes into river near Umea

Horrified witnesses told how they heard a loud bang and saw the plane dipping before it crashed nose-first, according to local media. Police spokesman Peder Jonsson said the small plane designed to carry parachutists crashed on an island on the Ume river shortly after take off. The cause of the accident, which took place at about 2pm, was unknown. He said those on board were on a skydiving trip. 

Eyewitnesses claimed they saw parachutists desperately attempting to jump out of the plane as it careened into the ground.

The region’s main University Hospital of Umea confirmed there were no survivors and relatives of the victims had been informed. 

The victims’ names or nationalities have not been idenitified. 

The plane reportedly plunged into a river on the island of Storsandskar after returning from a skydiving trip. 

It took off from Umea airport shortly after 1.30pm and plummeted at about 2pm local time just 2km away.

Rescue service spokesman Conny Qvarfordt said: “We are already on the scene with a rescue team which is assisting the ambulance and we have opened a location, together with aid organisations, to give psychological and social care.

“It’s a parachute plane, and something seems to have happened just after take-off.”

Sweden’s Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said he had received the news “with great grief”, adding: “I think of the dead and their relatives in this difficult time”.

Umea Airport operator Swedavia said the plane was a GippsAero GA8 Airvan, a single-engine eight-seater aircraft.