Just hours after finding 10 people dead in western Alaska from one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years, authorities are racing to recover their remains and the wreckage of the small commuter plane from unstable sea ice before expected high winds and snow.

The Bering Air single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet on Thursday afternoon with nine passengers and a pilot. It lost contact about less than an hour after takeoff.

Three people were found inside the aircraft and "reported to be deceased," the U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska said on X. The remaining seven people were also believed to be inside but were "currently inaccessible due to the condition of the plane,