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The wreckage of a​ plane carrying nine passengers and a pilot was found on sea ice in western Alaska after it went missing Thursday afternoon. Officials confirmed all 10 people on board were found dead.

E​fforts quickly shifted to recovery, as rapidly changing conditions and bad weather were expected in the area. A winter weather advisory was in effect for the area until Sunday evening, with freezing temperatures, blowing snow and rain expected.

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The plane sits on slushy, unstable ice, say authorities, adding to the urgency of the operation.

O​fficials said the Bering Air flight was traveling from Unalakleet to Nome when it was reportedly overdue to land at 4 p.m. local time Thursday. When contact was lost with the plane, it was about 12 miles offshore, the Associated Press reported via the U.S. Coast Guard.

T​he Cessna 208 Caravan was reportedly in a holding pattern while waiting for the runway to be cleared in Nome, the town's volunteer fire department shared in a Facebook post.

(​MORE: Winter Storm Coats Cities In Ice, Snow From Midwest To Northeast)

T​here was light snow and low clouds present in the area at the time of the incident, but winds were light. As the search went on, the volunteer fire department said conditions were too dangerous for anyone to go out searching on their own.

"​Due to weather and visibility, we are limited on air search at the current time," the fire department also said.

Hours into the mission, r​escuers searching by helicopter spotted the plane's wreckage on the ice and lowered two rescue swimmers to investigate. Three people were discovered and confirmed to be dead. The seven others aboard were "inaccessible" but believed to be dead, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

T​he identities of the passengers and pilot have not been released. Nome is the "finish line" for the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which is scheduled to begin Feb. 27 in Anchorage and end March 6.