10 Americans dead in Costa Rica plane crash: report

A charter plane carrying ten U.S. citizens crashed Sunday in Costa Rica, killing everyone onboard, that country’s government announced.

“The government of Costa Rica deeply regrets the death of 10 American passengers and two Costa Rican pilots,” President Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera said in a statement on Facebook, according to a CNN translation.

Solís said the government plans to open an investigation on Monday too look into the cause of the crash that left 12 people dead.

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Costa Rica’s Public Safety Ministry posted pictures of the crash on its Facebook page, showing burning wreckage in a wooded area.

Authorities said although they have the names of the passengers form flight manifest, they are waiting to officially confirm the identities of the victims, The Associated Press reported.

Enio Cubillo, head of Costa Rica Civil Aviation, announced during a news conference that the Nature Air charter flight took off from Punta Islita and was flying towards the capital of San Jose when it crashed in northwest Costa Rica around 12:30 p.m., the news wire reported.

Cubillo also reportedly described the pilot, Juan Manuel Retana, as an experienced professional.

Nature Air did not respond to the AP’s requests for comment about the crash.