WA Premier Roger Cook confirmed today that the bodies of three people were recovered from the water at Thompson Bay overnight.
They have been identified as a 65-year-old female tourist from Switzerland, a 60-year-old male from Denmark and the 34-year-old pilot, who was a Western Australian man.
The privately owned sea plane, which arrived from NSW days earlier, was carrying one pilot and six passengers when it crashed into Thomson Bay at Rottnest Island shortly after taking off at about 4pm (7pm AEDT) yesterday.
“Three lives were lost when a seaplane crashed moments after takeoff,” Cook said.
“The tragedy unfolded in front of many tourists including families with children… It may have been distressing for those who witnessed the event.”
WA Police Force Commissioner Col Blanc confirmed that there were three couples on board at the time of the crash.
He also confirmed that four people had survived the crash, including a 63-year-old man from Switzerland, a 58-year-old woman from Denmark, a 63-year-old male from Western Australia and a 65-year-old male from Western Australia.
“We understand of the seven people, three were couples, and the pilot.
“Three of those people are recovering in hospital… We are working with all of those survivors to understand what their observations were of the crash.”
Their injuries range from minor to a “very serious” hand injury, he said.
An exclusion zone is still in place at Thompson Bay as police continue to remove the debris from the water.
“There are large parts of the aircraft still submerged,” Blanc said.
Blanc said the bodies were recovered at a depth of eight metres underwater.
Both Cook and Blanc thanked the members of the public who stepped in and helped the surviving victims of the crash escape the wreck.
Two separate investigations into the crash and the deaths are underway by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and WA Police respectively.
Anyone with footage of, or who witnessed the crash has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
