Thai police plane crashes into sea, killing six aboard

A small police plane has crashed into the sea near a popular beach town in Thailand, killing all six people on board.

The plane was conducting a test flight to prepare for parachute training in Hua Hin district before it crashed on Friday morning, Royal Thai Police said.

Officials did not immediately share the model of the propeller plane, but photos from the scene appear to show a Viking DHC-6 Twin Otter.

The plane crashed near Hua Hin Airport, said the public relations department of Prachuab Kiri Khan province.

The photos show the plane in the sea about 100 metres offshore.

The body of the plane appeared to be broken in two.

All six on board were police officers, police said.

Five of them died at the scene and one, the pilot, died later at the hospital.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

Officials were gathering evidence including data from the plane's black box.