Officials have confirmed that 11 skydivers and a pilot died in a plane crash in the US state of Missouri.
The aircraft, chartered by a skydiving operation, departed at approximately 11:20 local time on Sunday, according to a representative from Bates County Emergency Management.
After struggling to gain altitude, the plane executed a sharp left turn and went down roughly 200 yards from Butler Memorial Airport, the spokesperson informed the BBC. All 12 individuals aboard perished, he stated.
"We are handling this ... as a mass casualty incident," Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson said at an afternoon press conference.
The sheriff noted that the aircraft was not a commercial airliner, but rather "a local plane that departed from our local airport."
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the aircraft was a Pacific Aerospace P750 and crashed while taking off from the airport.
"Air traffic services were not in operation at that time," the FAA stated. A representative clarified that the plane was not obligated to be in contact due to the type of airspace it was operating within.
Local news outlets reported that emergency responders surveyed the area to determine if any skydivers had exited the plane before the crash.
Some relatives of the deceased witnessed the event, according to the sheriff.
Authorities have not released details about the victims' identities.
The town of Butler is located roughly 50 miles south of the Kansas City metropolitan region.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is heading the inquiry into the crash, the FAA said.
The BBC has reached out to the NTSB.