A small Cessna Caravan aircraft shuttling 10 foreign tourists to Kenya's Maasai Mara National Reserve crashed in the forested hills of the Kwale coastal region early Tuesday morning according to local authorities.

"The aircraft had 11 persons on board," confirmed Kenya's Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).

"Sadly, there are no survivors," said flight operator Mombasa Air Safari. In a statement, Chairman John Cleave said the passengers included eight Hungarians, two Germans, and a Kenyan captain.

Plane crashed shortly after take-off

The plane was on route to Kichwa Tembo, a private airstrip inside the park, when it went down around 5:30 a.m. (0230 GMT).

Officials say the crash occurred just after take-off, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Diani airstrip. Witnesses reported hearing a large bang then seeing a burst of flames.

Authorities say investigators found charred wreckage and unidentifiable human remains at the scene of the crash, adding that they will need time to piece together exactly what happened.  

Mombasa Air Safari has said it is working hand in hand with civil aviation authorities to establish the cause of the crash.

Maasai Mara National Reserve is a popular tourist destination, where guests can observe the annual wildebeest migration of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, zebras and gazelles from the Serengeti in Tanzania. 

Edited by: Kieran Burke