Nine die after plane carrying skydivers crashes in Sweden

Swedish police confirm fatalities in ‘very severe accident’ outside Orebro on Thursday

Officers stand next to the wreckage of crashed plane at Orebro Airport, Sweden, July 8th 2021. Photograph: Jeppe Gustafsson/ EPA
Officers stand next to the wreckage of crashed plane at Orebro Airport, Sweden, July 8th 2021. Photograph: Jeppe Gustafsson/ EPA

All nine people onboard an airplane died after the aircraft crashed outside Orebro, Sweden, on Thursday, Swedish police said.

“It’s a very severe accident,” Swedish police said on their website. “Everyone on board the crashed plane has died.”

Police said the plane, a DHC-2 Turbo Beaver, was carrying eight skydivers and one pilot. It crashed close to the runway at Orebro airport shortly after takeoff and caught fire at impact.

"It is with great sadness and sorrow that I have received the tragic information about the plane crash in Orebro," Sweden's prime minister Stefan Lofven wrote on Twitter. "My thoughts are with the victims, their families and loved ones in this very difficult time."

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In a similar accident, nine people died in northern Sweden in 2019 when a plane carrying skydivers crashed shortly after takeoff. The crash investigation showed the plane had been improperly loaded.