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Two die in plane crash watched by Australia Day crowd Two die in plane crash watched by Australia Day crowd
(about 2 hours later)
A man and a woman have died in a light plane crash in Perth as a crowd celebrating Australia Day watched on.A man and a woman have died in a light plane crash in Perth as a crowd celebrating Australia Day watched on.
The Grumman G-73 "Mallard" flying boat nosedived into Swan River in Western Australia's capital just after 17:00 local time on Thursday.The Grumman G-73 "Mallard" flying boat nosedived into Swan River in Western Australia's capital just after 17:00 local time on Thursday.
Video posted on social media showed a large plume of water as the plane hit the surface. Pilot Peter Lynch, 52, and his girlfriend Endah Cakrawati, 30, were the sole occupants, police said.
The city's annual fireworks, expected to draw more than 300,000 people to the area, were cancelled. An annual fireworks celebration, expected to draw 300,000 people to the river, was immediately cancelled.
The victims were the plane's only occupants. Western Australia Police acting commissioner Stephen Brown said the cause of the crash was being investigated.
Lloyd Douglas, who was on a nearby boat, said the plane appeared to stall as it turned towards the city. "I was actually standing on the Perth foreshore doing a live cross to one of the TV channels when the tragic events unfolded in the sky above me," he said on Friday.
"It clearly had broken at least in two significant parts, and was sinking very quickly."
Crowd shocked
Witness Lloyd Douglas, who was on a nearby boat, said the plane appeared to stall as it turned towards the city.
"As he banked left he seemed to go further to the left ... and lose forward momentum and lost altitude fairly quickly," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp."As he banked left he seemed to go further to the left ... and lose forward momentum and lost altitude fairly quickly," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Large crowd Another onlooker, Craig Newill, said the accident shocked his family.
Witness Craig Newill said his family was stunned.
"[The] wings were pointing to the sky and to the water and we thought 'this is not good', then we saw it break into two pieces," he told Perth Now."[The] wings were pointing to the sky and to the water and we thought 'this is not good', then we saw it break into two pieces," he told Perth Now.
Western Australia Police acting commissioner Stephen Brown told reporters it was fortunate the plane did not hit the crowd. Mr Brown told reporters it was fortunate the plane did not hit the crowd.
"For reasons yet unknown, it's entered the waterway, thankfully without injuring anyone else on the ground or any other people who are here the event," he said."For reasons yet unknown, it's entered the waterway, thankfully without injuring anyone else on the ground or any other people who are here the event," he said.
Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi said the fireworks were cancelled out of respect to the victims and to "conserve the integrity of the [crash] site".Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffidi said the fireworks were cancelled out of respect to the victims and to "conserve the integrity of the [crash] site".
The plane remained in the river overnight.The plane remained in the river overnight.
It was not immediately clear whether it was part of the planned festivities.