8 Die As Private Plane Crashes In Southern Idaho Mountains

MALAD CITY, Idaho - A corporate plane carrying four Coca-Cola executives crashed in a mountainous area in southern Idaho after reporting an emergency, killing all eight people aboard, authorities said.

Ground rescuers found the wreckage at the base of John Evans Canyon, 10 miles northwest of Malad City, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mitch Barker.

Among the dead were four executives of Swire Coca-Cola USA of Salt Lake City and two employees of a Salt Lake advertising agency. The executives were heading to a sales meeting in Pocatello.

The two other victims were the pilot and co-pilot.

Barker said air-traffic controllers in Salt Lake City saw the twin-turboprop plane making a rapid descent on radar screens, and the pilot reported an emergency of an unspecified nature at 6:17 a.m. The weather was clear.