Police Officers walk near the plane that crashed on landing at Le Castellet airport, near Toulon, southern France, Friday, July 13, 2012. Three US citizen died in the accident. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

LE CASTELLET, France (AP) — A French official says a private plane has caught fire and crashed on landing at Le Castellet airport in southern France, killing the three Americans on board.

Paul Mourier, prefect of the Var region where Le Castellet is located, said two men, aged 60 and 24, and a 30-year-old woman died in the Friday afternoon crash of the Gulfstream F4 from Nice. The victims, all burned, weren't identified.

Some 60 firefighters doused the flaming aircraft, which lost a wing on its landing approach. Five divers searched a nearby swamp to ensure there were no other victims.

An investigation into the cause of the crash on a windless day has been opened.
Associated Press
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