Swiss and Danish nationals among three dead in seaplane crash off Australian tourist island
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Police say cause of crash under investigation. At least three people were killed after a small seaplane crashed during take-off from an Australian tourist island. The Cessna 208 Caravan plane crashed on Tuesday while leaving Rottnest Island, which is famous for its friendly marsupials called quokkas.
![[A seaplane crashed while leaving a tourist island in Australia]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/08/05/0a79cc7f529e4fe5be345df9e893a160.jpg)
The victims were identified as the 34-year-old pilot, a 65-year-old woman from Switzerland and a 60-year-old man from Denmark. Three passengers were taken to hospital with wounds while one of the seven people onboard escaped unharmed. The plane, owned by Swan River Seaplanes, was returning to its base in Perth, 30km east of the island, Western Australia premier Roger Cook said.
![[A fuselage in water off Rottnest Island]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/08/06/4da33afa771c43bbbc70db2ff36af567.jpg)
Mr Cook confirmed the deaths on Wednesday as search teams fished wreckage of the plane from the sea. The survivors included an Australian couple, a 63-year-old man and 65-year-old woman. Police divers recovered the bodies on Tuesday night from a depth of 8m, authorities said.
Mr Cook said the cause of the crash was not immediately known but there were unconfirmed reports that the plane had struck a rock at the entrance of a bay on the west side of the island. "Every Western Australian knows that Rottnest is our premier tourism destination," Mr Cook said. "For something so tragic to happen in front of so many people, at a place that provides so much joy, especially at this time of the year, is deeply upsetting.".
