Colorado plane crash kills 10

Officials lost contact with the plane south of Denver

All 10 people on board a small aircraft died on Saturday when it crashed after take-off from an airport in the US state of Colorado.

The aircraft was a commuter plane chartered by the Oklahoma State University men's basketball team.

This is indeed a very sad day for Oklahoma State University

University President James Halligan

It is still not clear what caused the plane to come down.

A US Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said officials lost contact with the plane when it was 30km (20 miles) south of Denver after taking off in snowy weather from Jefferson County Airport.

The 11-seater Beechcraft King Air 200 Catpass crashed at about 1735 local time (0035 Sunday GMT), with a pilot, co-pilot and eight passengers aboard.

Investigation

The plane was one of three bringing the team home from a game against the University of Colorado in Boulder.

"There are no survivors," said Sergeant Craig Coleman of the Adams County Sheriff's department.

The crash victims were members and support staff of the university basketball team, as well as a radio sports presenter and producer, university officials said.

The aircraft was believed to be heading to Stillwater in the state of Oklahoma.

The National Transportation Safety Board said a team would be flying to Colorado to begin an investigation into the crash.