Police in Switzerland say all 20 people on board a vintage plane were killed when it crashed into a mountain yesterday.

The crash happened at around 5pm local time on Saturday on the Piz Segnas mountain in the south east of the country, more than 2,400 metres above sea level.

17 passengers and three crew members were on board when the plane went down as it was travelling from southern Switzerland to an airport near Zurich.

Officials on Sunday said all 11 men and nine women were killed.

An Austrian couple and their son were said to be among who died.

The Junkers Ju-52 propeller plane that crashed was built in 1939.

It is operated by a company called JU-Air, which specialises in tours using former Swiss military aircraft.

In a statement, the company said: "The JU-Air team is deeply saddened and thinks of the passengers, the crew and families and friends of the victims.

"The flight operations of JU-Air is suspended until further notice."

Image: JU-Air

The cause of the crash has yet to be determined, while witnesses told local media that the plane turned before 'falling like a stone to the ground'.

Officials said the plane appeared to have crashed at high speed.

Separately, four members of one family - including two children - died when a small plane crashed in central Switzerland.

Swiss President Alain Berset expressed condolences to the families of the victims of the two crashes.

Additional reporting by IRN