An aircraft has been found amid the search for a Bering Air caravan that went missing Thursday with 10 people on board, authorities in Alaska said.
The aircraft, which matches the description of the missing plane, was located Friday 34 miles southeast of Nome, Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard said, releasing a photo of the crashed aircraft.
Three people were found dead inside, the Coast Guard said.
The whereabouts of the seven other people on the flight are unknown.
“Our thoughts are with those affected by this tragic incident,” the Coast Guard said.
Crews in Nome had been conducting search-and-rescue operations after the aircraft went missing.
Bering Air Flight 445, a Cessna 208B, disappeared while flying from Unalakleet Airport to Nome Airport around 3:20 p.m. local time Thursday, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
“The aircraft was 12 miles offshore transiting from Unalakleet to Nome when its position was lost,” the U.S. Coast Guard Alaska maritime region said.
Earlier Friday, an “item of interest” was identified by an aircraft participating in the search efforts, Coast Guard Officer Ben McIntyre-Coble said during a press briefing .
The item was found moments before the press briefing and no additional information was available at that time, he said.
A Coast Guard helicopter was deployed to the location, he said.
The plane was reported overdue at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.
Radar analysis shows that at approximately 3:18 p.m., the aircraft “experienced some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss and speed,” McIntyre-Coble said.
“What that event is, I can’t speculate to,” he added.
There were nine passengers, all adults, and a pilot on board the commuter plane, authorities said.
Multiple agencies have been involved in the search-and-rescue effort, including the Alaska Army National Guard, Alaska State Troopers and Nome Volunteer Fire Department.
Some of the aerial search effort was impacted overnight by severe weather in the region, authorities said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it’s investigating. NTSB chair Jennifer Homendy will travel to Alaska this weekend.
ABC News’ Marilyn Heck and Ayesha Ali contributed to this report.
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