Thai rescue workers used pickaxes to search muddy forest areas on Friday for debris and the remains of nine people aboard a charter flight that crashed the previous day, authorities said. All passengers are presumed dead.

Five tourists from China and four Thai nationals, including the two pilots, were on board the Cessna Caravan C208B, which crashed 100 kilometers southeast of Bangkok, eleven minutes after contact with ground control was lost after takeoff.

All passengers on the charter plane are presumed dead, said Chonlatee Yongtrong, governor of Chachoengsao province, at the crash site, as authorities feverishly investigate the cause.

“We have found many human remains,” the governor told reporters late Thursday, adding that the muddy terrain had made the search difficult.

“The plane crashed vertically, so we had to dig 10 meters deep into the ground.”

Photos from the scene show aircraft debris scattered across a wooded, swampy area. Rescue workers are digging with pickaxes and using a pump to remove water from some areas while police forensic units attempt to recover and reassemble the bodies.

The plane with flight number TFT209 heading for the eastern province of Trat took off from Suvarnabhumi Airport in the capital on Thursday afternoon.

The aircraft, registered to Thai Flying Service Co Ltd, lost contact with ground control in Bangkok 11 minutes after takeoff, provincial officials said, according to the aviation authority.

(This article has not been edited by News18 staff and is from the feed of a syndicated news agency – Reuters.)