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Old 30th Aug 2004, 08:58
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Eee Tee
 
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ABC News:

Two overseas tourists have died after their light plane crashed at a luxury wilderness park in the far north of Western Australia.

The twin-engine plane is believed to have crashed just before the runway at the famous El Questro Wilderness Park, west of Kununurra.

The man and woman on board, aged in their late-50s, are believed to have been visiting from the United Kingdom.

The Fire and Emergency Service in the Kimberley says the plane crash has started a bushfire.

Regional spokesman Peter Cann says satellite imagery is being used to determine the extent of the fire in heavy scrub land covering the huge El Questro property.

Witnesses on the ground have told authorities the Cessna 421 appeared to be experiencing engine problems.

Police spokeswoman Jodie Di Lallo says their next of kin are being informed.

"We believe when the plane has crashed it has caused a fire and the people inside have been incinerated," she said.

The tourists were the sole occupants of the aircraft, which was owned by the couple.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and the Air Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) will investigate the accident.

Four air safety experts from Canberra are expected to arrive at the park tomorrow.

A spokesman for the ATSB says it could take up to a week to determine the cause of the crash.

A spokesman for the El Questro Wilderness Park resort, Peter Hook, says the names of the couple are being withheld.

"The two people believed to have died are foreign tourists to Australia who flew in from Europe," he said.

"Unfortunately, obviously, we can't mention names until they've been identified and their relatives notified.

"But at the moment it does appear that they were foreign tourists and they were guests at the El Questro resort."
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