A plane carrying nine people crashed near the Thai capital Bangkok on Thursday, prompting a massive search operation in which workers trudged across mud and dug through the thick cover of mangrove trees late into the night.
Two Thai pilots, along with five Chinese and two Thai passengers on board the Cessna Caravan C208B turboprop plane are believed to have been killed and authorities are investigating the crash.
The small aircraft departed from Bangkok’s main international airport at 2:46 p.m. local time, headed to an airport in eastern Trat province, according to the Chachoengsao provincial office of the government’s public relations department.
It lost contact about 10 minutes into the flight, the office said in a statement.
Residents of Chachoengsao’s Bang Pakong district described seeing the plane fall from the sky and “explode loudly” upon impact, with debris damaging nearby homes.
“I was sitting in front of my house. The plane flew over my house with a loud engine sound. Just seconds after that it crashed just here, with a loud crash,” one resident told officials, in a video shared by the provincial office.
Soneva Kiri, a luxury resort located on the island on Koh Kood, confirmed to CNN in a statement that it employed the two Thai passengers. The resort’s guests usually arrive via private plane at the nearby airport, then take a speedboat to the island.
The resort said it was fully cooperating with authorities in the investigation.
The cause of the crash remains unclear.
Parts of the aircraft were found scattered in the mud, along with nearly 70 body parts, which have been sent to a police hospital for identification, the provincial office said.
But the search was delayed by several hours due to logistical difficulties, it said. The crash took place in a mangrove forest, where the ground was wet due to overspill from a nearby river.
Photos and videos released by the office show large crowds of rescue workers and emergency staff on site, wearing headlamps as night fell and sifting through wreckage – including suitcases and open bags. Large excavators dug through the mud and mangrove trees, with some workers standing in knee-deep ponds to fish out debris.
The river’s high tide made the search even more challenging, with rescue teams having to pump out water and build embankments to prevent more water from flowing in, the provincial office said. The search was paused at 2 a.m., and resumed on Friday morning.
Authorities will analyze the aircraft debris to determine the cause of the crash, the office said – adding that the plane did not have a black box, and had communicated directly with air traffic control.
Additional reporting by the Associated Press. This story has been updated.
