UPDATE:

Five people have been confirmed dead following a light plane crash in Far North Queensland today.

Most of the victims are believed to be government workers from Cairns.

Police said the plane had failed to land twice at the Lockhart River airport before crashing.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will investigate the cause of a crash.

EARLIER:

The wreckage of an aircraft has been located by police on a remote beach near the Lockhart River in Far North Queensland.

A coordinated search for the light aircraft by the Queensland Police Service and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) began this morning at around 11:30am

AMSA tasked two rescue helicopters from Cairns and Horn Island and AMSA’s Challenger Search and Rescue jet from Cairns to the location.

Emergency services located the wreckage of a plane at about 1:20pm on a beach in an easterly direction of the Lockhart River Airstrip.

There were reportedly five people on board the plane at the time, police have yet to confirm if there were any fatalities.