A pilot reported a fire aboard the plane carrying fuel and attempted to return to Fairbanks just before the crash.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — One of two pilots aboard a plane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the plane shortly before it crashed and burned at outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.

The pilot had made radio contact about the combat emergency shortly after takeoff Tuesday, said Clint Johnson, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Alaska regional office. They were trying to return to Fairbanks International Airport when they lost contact, he said.

The plane crashed about 7 miles from Fairbanks, hitting a steep hill and sliding down an embankment to the bank of the Tanana River, catching fire. Alaska State Troopers say no survivors have been found.

Troopers said recovery efforts would resume Wednesday with the help of dogs, but noted that thin ice and open water on the river made their efforts difficult. The names of the drivers have not been released.

“The recovered remains will be sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for positive identification,” police said in a statement.

The plane took off from Fairbanks just before 10 a.m., loaded with 3,200 gallons (12,100 liters) of fuel oil for Kobuk, an Inupiat village of fewer than 200 people located about 300 miles (480 kilometers) to the northwest from Fairbanks.

Johnson said there were also about 1,200 gallons of aviation fuel aboard the C54D-DC Skymaster aircraft, a World War II-era plane that had been converted to a cargo plane.

It is difficult and expensive to get fuel to Alaska’s rural villages, which are remote and difficult to access due to the state’s limited highway system. The Northwest Arctic District said heating oil in Kobuk costs $15.45 per gallon in 2022.

The Alaska Energy Authority said barges typically deliver fuel to coastal communities. But in villages where barges cannot travel or where it is not economically feasible, air tankers will deliver fuel – but even this is limited by sea or river ice, water levels or the availability of ice roads.

The C54D-DC is a military version of the Douglas DC-4, a World War II aircraft. The website www.airlines.net states that the standard passenger seat count for a DC-4 was 44 at its peak, but most were converted to cargo planes.

The NTSB has three investigators on site.

The plane was registered to Alaska Air Fuel of Wasilla. Telephone messages left with the company were not returned.