Four dead in small plane crash in Austria

(Patria) - Four people died yesterday when a light aircraft crashed in St. Andrä im Lungau in Austria.

The plane took off from Zagreb and was originally supposed to land in Salzburg, and the cause of the crash is not yet clear, reports Salzburg24.

The accident occurred on Mitterberg in the Lintsching district, in the middle of a forest on steep, impassable terrain. An eyewitness heard a bang and notified emergency services.

The small Cirrus SR-20 aircraft took off from Zagreb and is presumed to have encountered currently unexplained problems shortly after 3 PM, which led to the crash.

Salzburg was announced as the destination airport, according to the police. The bodies have not yet been identified.

Constant rain and steep terrain hampered the rescue operation, which lasted until deep into the night.

The rescue operation involved an emergency helicopter, a doctor, and three Red Cross rescue vehicles, fire departments from St. Andrä, Tamsweg, and Ramingstein, the Tamsweg mountain rescue service, and the police.

The State Criminal Police Office of Salzburg and aviation experts are now examining the wreckage to determine the cause of the accident.

As reported by ORF Salzburg, the weather in Lungau at the time of the accident was considered difficult for visual flight – due to partially dense cloud cover and wind turbulence.

In addition, it is stated that the crashed aircraft was standardly equipped with an emergency parachute, which is activated with the help of an explosive charge. However, the rescue system was apparently not activated, reports APA news agency.