Story highlights
Two of the passengers who died were from California and one was from Pennsylvania
The NTSB will investigate the circumstances around the crash
A small plane crashed in the area of Iliamna in southern Alaska on Tuesday, killing three people and injuring more.
Rescue personnel were on the ground and assisted the injured passengers, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
Seven people survived the crash, Alaska Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Edward Eagerton told CNN.
“Medical personnel from a local clinic treated survivors. Two (survivors) stayed with them, and an additional five survivors who required a higher level of medical care were transported to an Anchorage hospital,” he said.
Megan Peters, with the department of public safety, identified the dead as Tony W. Degroot, 80, of Hanford, California; James P. Fletcher, 70, of Clovis, California; and James Specter, 69, of Shavertown, Pennsylvania.
The crash happened just north of the Iliamna Airport, near Eastwind Lake.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the circumstances and cause of the crash, which were not immediately clear.
CNN’s Tony Marco contributed to this report.