Three men have been confirmed dead after a plane crash in a mountainous area in the city of Yame in Fukuoka Prefecture on Tuesday.
Around 10:40 a.m., a local resident made an emergency call to fire authorities saying that what appeared to be a Cessna aircraft had crashed, with black smoke visible.
Police officers and firefighters found apparent plane debris during search operations on a mountain. The three men, who were believed to have been aboard the aircraft, were found near the likely crash site, which is close to the border with Oita Prefecture. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Two of the men were from the city of Kyoto and one was from the city of Kobe, according to the office of Kyushu-Saga International Airport in the city of Saga. Police are working to confirm details of their identities.
The aircraft believed to have crashed was a Cirrus SR20 five-seater single-propeller plane, made by Cirrus Aircraft of the United States.
A distress signal from the aircraft was received at around 10:31 a.m., about 20 minutes after it took off from Kyushu-Saga International Airport, transport ministry officials said.
The plane had arrived at Kyushu-Saga International Airport from Yao Airport in Osaka Prefecture on Monday.
According to its flight plan, the plane was scheduled to leave Kyushu-Saga International Airport at around 10:15 a.m. Tuesday and arrive back at Yao Airport at around 12:45 p.m.
