By Rhiannon Shine, Rebecca Trigger, Keane Bourke, Gian De Poloni
Photo: KEN GILLHAM
Three people have been seriously injured in a seaplane crash off Rottnest Island, a popular tourist destination east of Perth.
Another three people on board the plane are still unaccounted for, and a seventh person was rescued without injury.
The ABC has confirmed the seaplane was brand new and had only been flying for a little over a week, while emergency services continue to assist on Rottnest.
Three people have been seriously injured, and three others are unaccounted for following a seaplane crash off Rottnest Island.
Police say a privately owned aircraft crashed into the water after hitting a large rock near Thomson Bay at 4pm AWST.
WA police confirmed seven people were on board the plane, including one pilot.
Three people were seriously injured and have been airlifted to hospitals in Perth.
Three other people remain unaccounted for.
A seventh person was uninjured.
St John WA confirmed two women in their 40s were among those seriously injured.
"I do want to reassure the community that we have significant resources on scene, and we are doing everything that we can," WA police commissioner Col Blanch said.
Two rescue aircraft, including the Royal Flying Doctor Service helicopter, have taken patients to both Royal Perth Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospital.
The three patients taken to Fiona Stanley have serious injuries, but are in a stable condition.
Witnesses shocked
Greg Quin is staying on the tourist island with his family and witnessed the crash.
"We were watching the sea plane take off and just as it was beginning to get off the water, it just tipped over and it crashed," he told ABC Radio Perth.
"It was a complete shock.
"A lot of people in the water on their boats rushed to the scene and I think got there really, really quickly which was just amazing.
"But it very quickly got caught up in the wind and the current and began drifting [it] away.
"It was pretty scary to see, there is a lot of people in the area quite worried and not quite sure what's going on."
Quin estimated the plane only reached up to three metres in the air before crashing.
Wreckage breaks apart
Aerial vision taken at the scene shows the plane nose-down in the ocean with its tail in the air and broken parts of the aircraft floating nearby.
Boats surrounded the site of the crash, including police, rangers and civilian vessels, while the WA rescue and police helicopters circled from above.
Part of the plane's landing gear was later seen being towed to shore as the bulk of the aircraft slowly started to disappear into the water.
At the island's port, rescue personnel were seen wheeling a person on a stretcher into the back of an ambulance before driving off.
In a post on social media, WA Premier Roger Cook said images of the crash were "deeply concerning".
"My thoughts are with all those affected, and I want to thank our first responders who are attending to the crash site," the post reads.
"I am being briefed on the situation and I will provide an update as more information becomes available."
Plane was 'brand new'
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 shows the aircraft accelerating to 117 kilometres per hour as it prepared to take off towards Perth, before the tracking ends.
West Australian firm, Swan River Seaplanes, who run scenic flights to Rottnest, had only just acquired the Cessna 208 a few days earlier from an east coast business.
Flight records show it left Sydney on 28 December and only arrived in Perth the following day.
David Marriner from the Queensland-based Trans Tasmanian Air Services told the ABC he had only just transferred its operating licence to Swan River Seaplanes.
"It's a brand-new plane, it's done very little work," he said.
"I believe they commissioned it about a week ago."
Marriner said he believed Swan River Seaplanes wanted another aircraft to help them out during their busy tourist season.
Marriner said it was very fortunate people had managed to get clear of the wreckage to be rescued, and he hoped the buoyancy of the design may have assisted.
"They are planes designed to be on water, … they have time before they sink," he said.
Historical records on the site show the aircraft regularly taking off and landing on the Swan River near Perth's CBD, and near Rottnest.
Company records show Swan River Seaplanes is joint-owned by Kristy Lee Bailey and Dean Kingi.
Bailey told the ABC the firm was working with authorities but couldn't provide any further updates, other than what police had advised.
Swan River Seaplanes was founded in 2016 by Ms Bailey, pilot Troy Thomas and his wife Sophie Thomas.
Thomas was killed in a helicopter crash in July 2020 in WA's north, which also claimed the life of a 12-year-old girl.
The ABC has been told the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) is gathering further information on the crash before confirming whether it will investigate.
It's understood investigators from the east coast were preparing to deploy to Perth if needed.
Rottnest Island, about 30 kilometres off the coast of Perth, is popular all-year round with tourists and known for its population of quokkas, a small marsupial.
This story was originally published by ABC News.
