9 killed in Sweden skydiving plane crash

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – Police in Sweden say nine people were killed when a small plane carrying skydivers crashed.

Police said on Friday that the victims include the pilot and all eight passengers who are said to be members of a local skydiving club.

The plane burst into flames upon impact Thursday evening and a local fire chief said “there were no lives to save.”

A spokesperson for the agency that oversees Swedish air traffic told broadcaster SVT the crash must have occurred “in connection” with the plane’s takeoff.

The Swedish Accident Investigation Authority dispatched a team to the crash site outside the city of Orebro to establish why the plane went down.

The Dagens Nyheter newspaper identified the plane as a single-engine, propeller-driven De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver.