Cessna 210 airplane in flight over Pacific Ocean.

A German family of four died in a plane crash in Namibia, southwest Africa. The couple chartered a Cessna 210 with their two daughters and had an accident on Tuesday afternoon on the edge of the Zambezi River, chief inspector Elifas Kuwinga told the German Press Agency on Wednesday.

The plane crashed minutes after takeoff from the runway on Impalila, a small river island in the northeast of the country, Kuwinga said. The South African pilot also died in the accident.

The cause of the accident remained unclear on Wednesday. Investigations have been initiated.