A recovery crew has reached a remote site in southeast Alaska where a sightseeing plane crashed, killing all nine people aboard.
Chris John of the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad said on Friday that the aircraft was sitting at a steep angle and three members from his organisation had to secure it so they could safely work to recover the bodies.
Eight cruise ship passengers and the pilot died when the DeHavilland DHC-3 Otter turboprop went down on Thursday in Misty Fjords National Monument near Ketchikan.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation.
Authorities tentatively identified the victims as Hal Cheney, 71, and Mary Doucette, 59, of Lodi, California; Glenda Cambiaso, 31, and Hugo Cambiaso, 65, of North Potomac, Maryland; June Kranenburg, 73, and Leonard Kranenburg, 63, of Medford, Oregon; Margie Apodaca, 63, and Raymond Apodaca, 70, of Sparks, Nevada; and the pilot, Bryan Krill, 64 of Hope, Idaho.
The plane crashed on a cliff above a lake in steep, muddy and slippery terrain, John said. The fuselage was largely intact but the wings and tail were separated or heavily deformed, he said.
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