A single-engine plane carrying 10 Americans crashed shortly after takeoff in a mountainous region of Costa Rica on Sunday afternoon, killing them and the two Costa Rican pilots on board, the Costa Rican government said.

The authorities in Guanacaste, a popular region on the Pacific coast for tourists, responded to reports shortly after noon of smoke and flames rising from a wooded area near Punta Islita Airport. Emergency responders found the charred wreckage of a Cessna plane operated by the regional airline Nature Air and the burned remains of those who had been on board.