Plane Carrying 10 Is Missing in Alaska

An aircraft carrying 10 people across Alaska's Norton Sound south of the Arctic Circle went missing Thursday afternoon and rescuers searched into the night for any sign of it. The Bering Air Caravan was heading from Unalakleet to Nome with nine passengers and a pilot, according to Alaska's Department of Public Safety. Authorities are working to determine its last known coordinates. Jack Adams, the fire chief in White Mountain, tells KTUU that crews are searching a 30-mile stretch from Nome to Topkok. He says that with sea ice "kind of jumbled," ground crews are traveling along the Iditarod Trail.

Adams says weather issues have restricted the air search. "Word is, all the aircraft are grounded, there's zero visibility," he says. "Basically, you can't see anything from the air or the ground, and in the dark looking for something in zero visibility is a tough job." Adams says crews are hoping to find the plane on land because "being in the water would be the worst-case scenario."

The Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet at 2:37pm and officials lost contact with it less than an hour later, according to David Olson, director of operations for Bering Air. The aircraft was 12 miles offshore at the time, according to the US Coast Guard. The Coast Guard, the National Guard, and troopers are helping with the search, according to the Nome fire department. Unalakleet is a community of about 690 people in western Alaska, around 150 miles southeast of Nome, the AP reports. (More Alaska stories.)