Valais plane crash kills three

Three Air-Glaciers helicopters dispatched firefighters, police, and emergency medical services to the scene. Keystone

A plane crashed on Sunday afternoon at the Sanetsch Pass in southwestern Switzerland, killing all three passengers on board. The cause of the crash is yet to be determined.

Valais cantonal police confirmed the accident to the Swiss news agency, although the spokesperson could not yet indicate circumstances of the accident. The plane had taken off from the Valais capital of Sion shortly before 1:00pm. 

According to the police, while the skies were clear at the time, there was some wind. The plane was a Piper Warrior II HB PTL, and was registered to the Seeland Aviation Club of Biel in canton Bern.

Swiss public television RTS reported that the plane was a training aircraft, and caught fire after crashing.

The accident is one of three plane crashes reported in Switzerland so far this month alone. Last Tuesday a two-seater plane crashed into the waters of Lake Constance near the Swiss-German border, killing both passengers. The week prior, three were killed in a youth camp plane crash in canton Graubünden. One 17-year-old passenger survived and was taken to hospital with severe injuries.