Sullivan, Mo. ? A small plane carrying skydivers crashed shortly after takeoff Saturday, killing six people on board and injuring two others, authorities and witnesses said.

Early reports indicated the plane may have struck a telephone pole before hitting a tree, Franklin County Sheriff Gary Toelke said. It crashed about 10 feet from a house.

Four people were dead at the scene and two more died at St. John’s Mercy Hospital in Creve Couer, hospital spokesman David Downs said. One of the injured was in critical condition and one was in serious condition, Downs said.

No one on the ground was reported injured.

The victims had not been identified, but some were believed to have been from the St. Louis area.