Five people were killed when the plane carrying them crashed near Brisbane. (Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

    CANBERRA, Jan. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Five people were killed when the plane carrying them crashed near Brisbane, capital of Austraian southeastern state of Queensland on Monday morning.

    Two others survived when the single-engine plane carrying a group of sky divers plunged into a dam near Ipswich, some 40 km west of Brisbane, shortly after take-off. Both were rushed to hospital.

    There were seven on board the ill-fated Cessna 206, three skydiving students, three teachers and the pilot.

    Radio reports quoted police as saying the plane, which was operated by the Brisbane Skydiving Center, failed to gain altitude after take-off, and then hit a tree and hurtled into the dam.

    Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman Peter Gibson was quoted as saying that it could take weeks to determine the cause of the crash because light aircraft don't carry black box flight recorders. Enditem