Light aircraft crash in Australia kills 2 children, 2 adults

SYDNEY (AP) — Four people including two children died on Sunday after a light aircraft crashed into the sea near the coast of Australia’s Queensland state.

Police said the aircraft, a four-seater Rockwell, crashed off the end of a runway at Redcliffe, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of the main city of Brisbane.

Divers recovered the bodies of two adults, including the 69-year-old male pilot, and two children from the upturned wreckage close to the shoreline, police Inspector Craig White told reporters.

White said the children’s ages were not immediately available but they were younger than teenagers.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said his organization is investigating. He said early reports suggested that the crash occurred not long after takeoff.