Multiple killed as two planes collide over California airport

Multiple people were killed as two planes collided over an airport in central California on Thursday, authorities said.

The number of deaths wasn't immediately clear, said Michelle Pulido, a spokeswoman for the city of Watsonville.

Pulido said the planes crashed at Watsonville Municipal Airport just before 3 p.m. as it tried to land.

The federal Aviation Administration described the planes as a twin-engine Cessna 340 with two people aboard and a single-engine Cessna 152 with one person aboard. They were on their final approaches when they collided, the agency said.

An image posted by the city showed what appeared to be the wreckage of one of the planes.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the crash. An investigation is underway, according to the city.

Watsonville is located about two hours south of San Francisco on Monterey Bay.