Five die as light plane crashes in northern Australia

A light plane crashed in heavy monsoon rains on the northeastern tip of Australia on Wednesday, killing all five people on board, police said.

The chartered flight, carrying four government workers and the pilot, had twice tried to land near Lockhart River, on Queensland’s Cape York Peninsula.

“The plane approached the landing strip and on the third occasion the plane has tragically crashed,” Chief Superintendent Chris Hodgman told reporters.