ILIAMNA, Alaska -- Three people are dead after a small plane crash in Alaska and one of the victims is a dentist from the Wilkes-Barre area.
Dr. James Specter, 69, of Shavertown was among those killed when the plane went down near a lake in southern Alaska.
Rescue personnel were on the ground and assisted the injured passengers, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
Seven people survived the crash, Alaska Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Edward Eagerton told CNN.
"Medical personnel from a local clinic treated survivors. Two (survivors) stayed with them, and an additional five survivors who required a higher level of medical care were transported to an Anchorage hospital," he said.
Megan Peters, with the department of public safety, identified the dead as Tony W. Degroot, 80, of Hanford, California; James P. Fletcher, 70, of Clovis, California; and James Specter, 69, of Shavertown, Pennsylvania.
The crash happened just north of the Iliamna Airport, near Eastwind Lake.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the circumstances and cause of the crash, which were not immediately clear.