Small Plane Crashes in South Chile Town, 9 Dead

The light plane hit a scrub area in Puerto Montt, 657 miles (1,058 km) south of the capital Santiago.

A small plane crashed on the outskirts of a southern Chilean city on Thursday, killing nine people, including a baby, police said.

General Hugo Pena, coordinating rescue efforts, said the light plane hit a scrub area in Puerto Montt, 657 miles (1,058 km) south of the capital Santiago. It narrowly missed a cluster of several hundred houses.

"It took off on a trip toward the island of Melinka and suddenly, about five kilometers northwest of the airport, fell quickly to earth," Pena said.

The small Beechcraft 99A passenger plane, owned by a company called Aerocord, could carry 10 people.

Pena said aviation authorities would investigate the cause of the crash in rainy and windy conditions.

"We heard a sound like a truck crashing, so we ran out to look and saw the plane. Its cabin was missing. We searched for the body of the pilot and saw a smoking body wearing a rucksack," said a tearful Julia Vasquez, 39, who lives nearby.

Some 30 people have died in Chile this year during accidents in small aircraft.