Los Angeles/IBNS Two people were killed on Saturday when a small plane crashed in a mountain area east of Phoenix, the capital of the southwestern US state of Arizona, officials said.

On Saturday morning, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office tweeted that it was responding to an aircraft down in the Superstition Mountains area, adding that multiple parties reported witnessing the incident.

The involved aircraft is a small two-seater airplane, and both individuals onboard are deceased, the Sheriff's Office said in an update hours later, noting that they are working to "positively identify them and notify their next of kin."

Officials said that the single-engine plane had reportedly been part of a flight involving two other airplanes.