LOS ANGELES, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Authorities confirmed on Saturday 11 people died after a twin-engine aircraft carrying skydivers crashed near an airfield on the Hawaiian island of Oahu Friday night.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation initially said first responders reported six deaths. The death toll rose to nine on Friday night and to 11 as of Saturday.
"There were 11 people on board the plane that went down soon after takeoff from Dillingham Airfield with no survivors," the department tweeted on Saturday afternoon.
Federal inspectors are investigating the cause of the crash, said the department.
Honolulu Fire Chief Manuel Neves told reporters that Honolulu Fire Department received the first call of the downed craft at about 6:30 p.m. local time (0830 GMT). When firefighters arrived shortly after the accident, they found the wreckage of the craft fully engulfed in flames.
Friday's tragedy is one of the deadliest accidents for a civilian airplane in Hawaii's modern history. In 1992, nine people were killed when a tour aircraft crashed into mountainous terrain when it took off.
