The victims of the accident in south-central Sweden were members of a local skydiving club.
A small plane carrying paratroopers crashed Thursday night in the Swedish city of Orebro and killed nine people on board, police said.
Among the dead were the pilot and eight passengers, according to police.
The victims were members of a local skydiving club, according to Orebro County Governor Maria Larsson.
Swedish Maritime Administration spokesman Carl-Johan Linde, who oversees air traffic, told SVT that the crash was to occur “in connection” with the take-off of the plane.
The plane exploded in flames as it hit what appeared to be an open field.
“There were no lives to save,” said local fire chief Per-Ove Staberyd, who coordinated the work of firefighters and other first aid.
Police received news of the crash shortly before 7:30 p.m., local time (5:30 p.m. GMT), and quickly learned it was “a very serious incident,” the deputy regional police chief said Friday. , Niclas Hallgren.
He said investigating the accident would be “a difficult job”. “He’ll spend his time,” Hallgren added.
The officer declined to provide details about the victims or speculate on the circumstances that led to the crash. The Swedish accident investigation authority immediately sent a team to the scene of the accident outside Orebro, located 164 km (102 miles) west of Stockholm.
The newspaper Dagens Nyheter identified the aircraft as a powered De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver engine.
Prime Minister Stefan Lofven wrote on Twitter that he was “very sad and dismayed” when he heard the crack and expressed his “deepest sympathy.”
The flags flew at half-mast in Orebro and the prime minister said during an impromptu press conference that Friday was “a day of mourning in Sweden.”
