Four persons were killed after a U.S registered private aircraft crashed in the sea off the Grenadine island of Bequia.

According to a report by St Vincent Times, the plane went down shortly after taking off from the airport around midday.

It says three of the passengers — an adult and two children — were US residents on vacation in Bequia.

The fourth person on board was the plane’s pilot.

The bodies of the deceased have since been retrieved.