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FIRE ISLAND, N.Y. (AP) - A small plane crashed into an inlet on Long Island's Atlantic Coast, and officials say the two people aboard are trapped in the sunken aircraft and presumed dead.

The U.S. Coast Guard says the aircraft went down around 3 p.m. Saturday in Moriches inlet, near the eastern end of Fire Island.

After crashing, the plane sank in about 15 to 20 feet of water. Petty Officer Erik Swanson of the Coast Guard says the cockpit had water inside and had been submerged for hours.

Witnesses had tied a rope to the plane to keep it from drifting, but weren't able to get the doors open before it sank.

Divers are continuing to search for the occupants and medics are at the scene in case the two people survived the crash.

The plane took off from nearby Spadaro Airport.