The crash site of the plane accident at the Simplon Pass can be seen in this Valais cantonal police picture
Keystone/Kantonspolizei Wallis
A small plane has crashed in the Simplon Pass area in the Swiss Alps, killing three people on board, authorities say.
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AP/SRF/ilj
Police in the canton of Valais saidExternal link the Piper plane set off Sunday morning at 9 am from an airfield in western Switzerland for Italy. At around 10:30 am it crashed “due to unexplained circumstances” above the pass near the Italian border and burst into flames, a statement said.
The bodies of the pilot, a passenger and a small child were recovered from the wreckage. Police said they are still being formally identified.
The cause of the crash is not yet known. Accident investigators have started work, the statement added.
The Simplon Pass, which is 2,005 metres above sea level, connects southern Switzerland with northern Italy.
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