JUNEAU, Alaska, Feb 8, (AP): Just hours after finding 10 people dead in western Alaska from one of the deadliest plane crashes in the state in 25 years, authorities raced to recover their remains and the wreckage of the small commuter plane from unstable sea ice before expected high winds and snow. "The conditions out there are dynamic, so we’ve got to do it safely in the fastest way we can,” Jim West, chief of the Nome Volunteer Fire Department, said Friday.

The Bering Air single-engine turboprop plane was traveling from Unalakleet to the hub community of Nome when it disappeared Thursday afternoon. It was found the next day after an extensive search with all nine passengers and the pilot dead. As the community tried to process the deadly event, crews worked swiftly on unstable, slushy sea ice to recover the bodies and the wreckage with less than a day before bad weather was expected.

Officials said a Black Hawk helicopter would be used to move the aircraft once the bodies were removed. Among those killed in the crash were Rhone Baumgartner and Kameron Hartvigson. They had traveled to Unalakleet to service a heat recovery system vital to the community’s water plant, according to the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. "These two members of our team lost their lives serving others,” David Beveridge, vice president of environmental health & engineering for the organization, said in a statement.

"The loss of these two incredible individuals and everyone else on board the plane will be felt all over Alaska.” The other people’s names have not been released. All 10 people on board the plane were adults, and the flight was a regularly scheduled commuter trip, according to Lt. Ben Endres of the Alaska State Troopers.

A photo provided by the Coast Guard showed the plane’s splintered body and debris lying on the sea ice. Two people in brightly colored emergency gear circled the wreckage. "It’s hard to accept the reality of our loss,” U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski said during an evening news conference. Nome Mayor John Handeland choked up as he discussed the deaths and the response effort.