3 confirmed dead in Tinian plane crash

by Mindy Aguon

Guam - Two people and a pilot have been confirmed dead after a Marianas Star plane crashed just after takeoff from Tinian on Sunday morning. Saipan Governor's Spokesperson Angel Demapan tells KUAM that a 29-year-old Chinese man, 26-year-old woman and a Caucasian pilot were killed in the crash. 

Extraction was ongoing.

Demapan says the crash occurred in a heavily vegetated area. Search and rescue personnel were working to clear an access. Four survivors are at the hospital. Demapan says a 26-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man are currently in the operating room while a three-year-old girl and a 27-year-old woman were admitted to the regular ward In Saipan.  There's no word on the cause of the crash.

The plane departed Tinian around 1 a.m. Sunday and should have landed in Saipan ten to fifteen minutes later.  Demapan says the FBI is on the ground and NTSB and FAA have been notified of the incident.