US skydivers' plane wreck found

A hunter saw the plane flying low and then heard a crash

The wreckage of a plane carrying nine skydivers and a pilot that vanished an hour after take-off on Sunday has been found in the state of Washington.

Searchers located the debris in the Washington Cascades at 1940 local time on Monday (0240GMT on Tuesday) and have discovered seven bodies so far.

The Cessna 208 left Star, Idaho, on Sunday after a skydiving event bound for Shelton, south-west Washington.

Searchers said no survivors had been found at the site near White Pass.

They were able to identify the wreckage from serial numbers.

'Experienced parachutists'

A hunter had reported seeing a plane flying low on Sunday evening and then hearing a crash in a densely forested area about 45 miles (72km) west of Yakima.

Yakima County Search and Rescue spokesman Darrell Monroe told the BBC the search would continue on Tuesday morning.

"There will be more detailed searches and investigations by aeronautics and the local sheriff tomorrow," he said.

Elaine Harvey, of Skydive Snohomish, in Washington state, told The Seattle Times newspaper the plane's passengers had either worked for her business or skydived often at Snohomish.

They were all experienced parachutists, she added.

The plane, which was registered to Kapowsin Air Sports of Shelton, took off at 1900 on Sunday (0200GMT on Monday) and disappeared from the radar about an hour later.