5 Dead After Small Plane Crashes in California

Five people were killed after their small plane crashed in central California, authorities said Sunday.

The passengers’ bodies were found among the wreckage of the deadly Saturday crash in an orchard southwest of Bakersfield, but they were not yet identified, the Associated Press reports.

The single-engine Piper PA32 was heading from San Jose to Las Vegas, according to the AP. It sent out a mayday call before disappearing from radar.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash, according to CNN.

“The aircraft is in a debris field … in an almond orchard, so it’s going to take a lot of footwork to conduct the investigation,” Sgt. Mark King of the Kern County Sheriff’s Office told CNN. “We do not expect to have positive identification of the passengers until Monday.”

[AP]