India, Aug. 21 -- A charter plane carrying eight people crashed on Thursday near a remote radar site in western Alaska in the United States, according to a federal official.

Clint Johnson, the National Transportation Safety Board's Alaska region chief, told news agency AP that the aircraft had two pilots and six passengers on board. Details about their condition were not immediately available.

The plane had departed from Anchorage and is believed to have crashed while approaching Cape Newenham early on Thursday afternoon, Johnson said.

He said the details available so far were preliminary.

The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center said it began a search and rescue operation after receiving a report of an "aircraft incident" near the Cape ...