Small plane crash in Switzerland kills 3

A small plane has crashed near a summer camp in Switzerland, killing two campers and the pilot, officials said. A teenager was also seriously injured in the crash of the single-engine plane on Friday, organised at the Aero-Club of Switzerland camp in the eastern canton of Graubunden, police said, Xinhua reported.

A 17-year-old female camper was badly hurt in the crash in the eastern canton of the Grisons and the cause was still under investigation, the Swiss News Agency reported. "When I heard about the terrible accident this morning my world was shattered," camp director Yves Burkhardt told reporters, the Swiss national broadcaster reported on its website Swissinfo.

Burkhardt said that the sightseeing flight at the weekend was to have been a highlight for nearly 200 youngsters at the holiday camp that had operated without incident for 35 years. Authorities said the four-seat Piper aircraft was on its second flight of the day and under the control of an experienced pilot, when it crashed in the Diavolezza region around 10 minutes after take-off.

The plane was being used in a flight initiation session organized by Aero-Club Switzerland, its spokesman confirmed. A total of 192 teenagers aged 14-16 were attending the youth camp, which was due to end Saturday. Over the past 35 years, 5,000 youngsters have attended the annual camp and there have never been any serious accidents, Swissinfo said.