A light plane crashed in a rural area of Australia’s New South Wales state, killing the male pilot and three children who were on board, police said on Friday. According to details, the aircraft had crashed and caught alight. Police and rescue teams reached the spot after getting information and extinguished the blaze but the five-seater Cirrus was destroyed. A statement by police later confirmed the plane took off from Canberra Airport at about 2:30 pm and was traveling to Armidale. The victims are yet to be formally identified. Police revealed that the single-engine aircraft vanished from radar screens 16 minutes after takeoff. A man and three children are believed to have been killed after a light plane crashed near Queanbeyan in south-eastern New South Wales. Police, fire crews and paramedics rushed to a paddock at Gundaroo on the western edge of Lake George about 35km north of Queanbeyan just before 3pm on Friday after reports the aircraft had crashed and caught fire. Rural Fire Service officers extinguished the blaze but the five-seater Cirrus was destroyed. Superintendent Cath Bradbury initially said from the scene investigators were still to confirm how many people were on board but “unfortunately, there are no survivors”. However, a statement by police later confirmed the aircraft “took off from Canberra airport about 2.30pm and was travelling to Armidale with four people – a man and three children – believed to be on board at the time”. Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup They are yet to be formally identified. Emergency services found the plane alight in a paddock in Gundaroo, on the western edge of Lake George, extinguished the blaze and established a crime scene. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has been notified and is due to attend the scene. Flight information shows the single-engine aircraft arrived in Canberra on Wednesday after travelling via Armidale from Redcliffe, north of Brisbane.