MARION, Ohio (WCMH) — Two people are dead after a plane crash in Pleasant Township in southern Marion County Tuesday morning.

Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) said troopers responded to a call of a crash at 11:30 a.m. in a bean field nine miles southwest of the Marion Municipal Airport. Authorities said two people were killed in the crash.

OSHP said it was first alerted of the crash by people who live nearby.

“There were some witnesses but the initial call went to the sheriff’s office and they reached out to the post and we responded,” said Sgt. Ryan Purpura with the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “We will go down all those avenues to try to figure out what else happened out here today.”

The highway patrol said the single-engine Piper Cherokee Six plane sustained major damage.

The sergeant said they expect this investigation to take some time.

“We will take a look at everything. The NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) and FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) investigators will also look in-depth into that. So we will try to work together to figure out what happened. So it’s going to take some time,” Purpura said.

Troopers say the NTSB will be at the site of the crash Wednesday to investigate.

Police did not release the identities of those killed pending positive identification.

OSHP was assisted at the scene by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Coroner’s Office, Pleasant Township Fire Department, Battle Run Fire District, Fort Morrow Fire District, 1st Consolidated Fire District, and the FAA.