KEY POINTS

  • Two planes crashed over Lake Couer d’Alene
  • Two bodies have been recovered but six more were reportedly onboard
  • Authorities believe that no one survived

Two people have died in a mid-air collision between two planes over Lake Couer d’Alene in Kootenai County, Idaho Sunday (July 5).

According to early reports, both planes were carrying eight passengers in total. The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said it was still being verified.

The bodies of two victims have been recovered. In a press release, the sheriff’s office said that the other passengers may have also died from the crash.

“At this time, it is believed there are no survivors,” the office said.

Emergency and other law enforcement services responded to the crash at around 2:20 p.m. local time. The collision occurred near Powderhorn Bay according to eyewitnesses at the scene.

The sheriff’s office said it has notified the National Transportation Safety Board about the crash. In a tweet, the NTSB said the mid-air collision involved a Cessna TU206G and a de Havilland DHC-2.

According to the Spokesman-Review, the sheriff’s office said that it did not have the equipment necessary to recover the planes which are now submerged under 127 feet of water.

The office also told the Spokesman-Review that they are likely to hire a commercial diving group to recover the possible remains of other likely victims underwater.

Lt. Ryan Higgins from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office told CNN that the six other victims included adults and children but did not release any other details, including the identities of the two bodies recovered before the planes sank into the lake.

Higgins also said that the investigation has not yet determined the cause of the collision and that the recovery of both aircraft may not occur until as late as Tuesday (July 7).

An eyewitness reportedly told the Spokesman-Review that he and his family were at the lake at the time of the crash.

John Cowles said that he saw what he described as an “engine explosion” on a seaplane around 200 feet above them. The plane crashed into the water after one of its wings separated from the rest of the plane.

Another eyewitness, Patrick Pearce, told the same newspaper that he saw the two seaplanes fly toward each other around 900 feet above the water.

Pearce, who claimed to be a pilot, said he recognized that both planes were traveling at a very high speed toward each other from the sound they were making. The planes reportedly collided before crashing into Lake Couer d’Alene.

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