Authorities in the Bahamas are examining the wreckage of a small Cessna plane for clues into what caused a crash that killed US singer and actress Aaliyah and eight others.
The twin-engined propeller plane, on a Florida-bound charter flight, crashed into swampy scrub and burst into flames just 200 feet (61 metres) from the runway at Marsh Harbour airport shortly after taking off for Miami yesterday.
Police said the plane had apparently experienced engine failure as it took off, but it was not yet known what caused that.
Seven people, including Aaliyah, were declared dead at the scene, and two others who survived with severe burns died later.
The 22-year-old R&B star was returning to the United States after filming a music video in the northern Bahamas about 170 miles (274 kilometres) east of South Florida. The nine people killed in the crash were all US citizens.
Aaliyah sold a million copies of her debut album Age Ain't Nothing But a Numberin 1994, and more recently the single Try Againbecame a big hit.
Last month, she released her third album, Aaliyahand was to have appeared in a sequel to The Matrix.
In Washington, the National Transportation Safety Board said it would send an investigator to the islands today after the Bahamas government asked for help.