Missing float plane carrying cruise ship passengers discovered on side of Alaska mountain

On Thursday, a float plane carrying passengers from a cruise ship crashed on the side of a mountain near Ketchikan, 300 miles south of Juneau.

Rescuers found the Promech Air plane on the face of a granite cliff 800 feet above Ella Lake hours after it went missing, ABC News reports. The plane was carrying eight passengers from the Holland America cruise ship MS Westerdam and the pilot, the company said. (UPDATE: All nine people on board the plane died in the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska office said late Thursday. Recovery teams will try to reach the wreckage again on Friday, after bad weather aborted Thursday's attempt.)

"We are incredibly distressed by this situation, and our thoughts and prayers are with those on board the plane and their families," Holland America officials said in a statement. "Holland America Line is extending its full support to traveling companions of the guests involved." The cruise ship left Seattle June 20, and is on a seven-day voyage through the Inside Passage.

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