A private plane crashed on Monday on Santa Catalina Island near Los Angeles, killing three people and critically injuring the fourth, authorities said. Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACFD) spokesman Ron Haralson said the plane crashed near the runway of the island's airport, bursting into flames and triggering a small brush fire.

Haralson said three people were found dead at the scene and a fourth was treated and taken to a nearby hospital.

Firefighters are still tackling the brush fire.  "We don't know if it was taking off or landing (or) what part of the airport it crashed ...," Inspector James Barnes of the LACFD said.

The type of plane, and the identities of the occupants were also not immediately known.