A small aircraft carrying four individuals crashed into shallow waters near the remote coastal town of Seldovia, Alaska, on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of all passengers aboard, officials confirmed. The Piper PA-24 had departed from Anchorage and was en route to Seldovia’s airport, located approximately 136 miles southwest of Anchorage, when the crash occurred.

The plane was found submerged in about 15 feet of water in the Seldovia Slough, close to the shoreline. Troopers were forced to wait for the tide to recede before accessing the wreckage, according to Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska region. Recovery teams subsequently retrieved the bodies of the four adults from the submerged aircraft. Their identities will remain confidential until family members are notified, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said.

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, and the NTSB has launched an investigation into the incident. Dan Sullivan, Alaska’s U.S. senator, announced that he would receive briefings from both the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration as they work to uncover the factors that led to the tragedy. Sullivan emphasized the importance of aviation safety and infrastructure improvements within the state following the accident.

This crash comes less than a week after another fatal aviation incident in western Alaska, where a plane attempting a second runway approach in dense fog failed to identify a gravel airstrip, resulting in the deaths of eight people on board. Authorities have noted that challenging weather conditions and remote locations continue to pose significant risks to aviation in Alaska.