Small plane crashes in Switzerland, family of 4 killed

BERLIN – A small plane crashed Saturday into a forest in central Switzerland, killing a local family of four who had just taken off for France, police said. In a separate incident, another plane crashed in the country's southeast, but there was no immediate information on casualties.

Police in the central canton (state) of Nidwalden said an aircraft went down Saturday morning near the town of Hergiswil, which is on Lake Lucerne at the foot of Mount Pilatus. Authorities had to send up a helicopter to extinguish the resulting fire before rescue workers could get to the scene, they said.

There was no immediate word on the possible cause of the crash, which was under investigation by Swiss authorities.

Police said later Saturday the victims were a couple and their two children from the region aboard the plane, which had taken off less than 20 minutes earlier from an airfield in Kaegiswil and was headed for France.

In a separate incident Saturday, police in the southeastern Swiss canton of Graubuenden said a several-seater plane crashed on the Piz Segnas mountain above the Alpine resort of Flims.

They didn't immediately give information on casualties, but said the crash site was 2,540 metres (8,330 feet) above sea level. The cause of that crash was also under investigation.

Ju-Air, a Swiss company that offers flights with veteran Junkers Ju-52 planes, said on its website that one of its aircraft had been involved in an accident Saturday but no further information was immediately available.