SAN JOS – Ten Americans flying from a vacation hotspot on Costa Rica’stropical Pacific coast died Sunday when the small plane they had justboarded crashed and burst into flames shortly after take-off, officials inthe country said.

A list of the passengers given by local media showed five shared the samelast name, suggesting they were related.

“The government of Costa Rica profoundly regrets the deaths of 10 USpassengers and two Costa Rican pilots in the air accident,” which occurredin the country’s northwestern Guanacaste region, Costa Rican President LuisGuillermo Solis said in a statement posted to social media.

A US State Department official said: “We confirm the deaths of multiple UScitizens in an airplane crash in Costa Rica.”

The official said “we express condolences to all those affected by thistragedy,” as well as assistance to “affected US citizens, but that “out ofrespect for the families, we are not sharing additional information at thistime.”——————————

Cause unknown——————————

Costa Rican officials said the plane that came down belonged to Nature Air,a domestic airline that services routes across the country and which alsoprovides aircraft for charter.

Guanacaste is a popular vacation destination, especially this time of year,when its pristine beaches and jungle provide a respite for tourists fleeingthe northern hemisphere’s winter.

Americans are by far the biggest group of tourists visiting Costa Rica.

The plane that crashed was a single-engine turboprop Cessna 208 Caravan.Its debris was scattered across a wooded mountain close to the beach townof Punta Islita.

Images posted by the country’s public security ministry showed blackenedwreckage, some in flames, with only part of the tail recognizable.

The cause of the crash was not known.

Solis said in his statement that his government “gives its commitment to doeverything necessary to work with the relatives of the victims to give themwhat they need in this difficult moment.”

He said emergency services launched into action when the alarm over thecrash was given at 12:13 pm (1813 GMT). The process of recovering thebodies continued into the night in Costa Rica.

Early Monday “the investigations into the causes of the accident willbegin,” Solis said.