Nine dead in plane crash in New Zealand's South Island

Nine people have died in New Zealand when a light aircraft belonging to a skydiving company crashed and burst into flames near a popular tourist spot in the country's Southern Alps.

The plane caught fire shortly after take-off from an airstrip at Fox Glacier, according to a spokesman for the local ambulance services.

Four tourists from Ireland, England, Germany and Australia, are among the dead. The pilot and the other four passengers were all local.

Police say the cause of the accident is not immediately known.