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MADRID, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- One person was killed and the other is missing after a light aircraft crashed in the Basque Region in northern Spain on Wednesday, according to rescue services.

The accident happened at around 14:00 p.m. local time on the 1,078-meter high Mount Hernio, in the province of Gipuzkoa, which was covered in mist at the time.

A local resident heard an explosion and informed the Basque regional police.

Nationality of the two people on board remains unknown.

The aircraft involved in the accident was reported as a UK registered Piper, which had taken off from the Portuguese town of Cascais earlier in the day on-route to the airport at Hondarribia, which is close to the border between Spain and France.

Rescue services were quickly on the scene, although the work of a rescue helicopter was severely limited by the adverse weather conditions.

The burned out wreckage of the plate was discovered at around 15:45 p.m. local time along with the body of one of the two on board. The search for the second person had to be suspended shortly after 18:00 p.m. due to the lack of light.

The area around the crash site has been sealed off by investigators. Rescue services will renew their search for the second person on Thursday, although there is little hope of finding them alive.