9 people have died after a light aircraft belonging to a skydiving company crashed on Saturday near a popular tourist spot on New Zealand’s South Island.

Ian Henderson, a spokesman for local ambulance services, said the plane burst into flames on Saturday after takeoff from an airstrip at Fox Glacier.

Greymouth Police Senior Sgt. Allyson Ealam said the pilot and eight passengers were killed.

Police said foreign tourists and New Zealanders were among the dead, but the ages, sex and nationality of the victims could not immediately be released. Next of kin were being contacted.

The crash happened around 1:30 PM New Zealand time (0130 GMT).
Police said the aircraft was a Fletcher fixed-wing plane of a type designed and built in New Zealand.