5 dead in Alaska plane crash; Ex-senator aboard

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP)– A plane carrying nine people crashed amid
southwest Alaska's remote mountains and lakes, killing five people on
board and injuring at least three others, authorities said Tuesday.
Former Sen. Ted Stevens and ex-NASA chief Sean O'Keefe were believed to
be aboard.

It was unclear if the longtime Republican senator and O'Keefe were among
the dead.

Rescuers arrived on helicopter early Tuesday and were giving medical
care to survivors, Alaska National Guard spokesman Maj. Guy Hayes said.
He offered no additional details, except that there were potential
fatalities.

Alaska officials reported that nine people were aboard the aircraft and
that "it appears that there are five fatalities," NTSB spokesman Ted
Lopatkiewicz told The Associated Press in Washington.

A U.S. government official told the AP that Alaska authorities have been
told that the 86-year-old Stevens was on the plane. The official, who
spoke on grounds of anonymity, says Stevens' condition is unknown.

The federal official declined to be publicly identified because the
crash response and investigation are under way.

There were early unconfirmed reports that Stevens had died. His family
and officials denied those accounts, saying his condition was unknown.