Montevideo, March 20 (EFE): At least six bodies have been spotted inside a plane that crashed in Maldonado department in east Uruguay, a fire department spokesperson deployed at the site told Spanish news agency Efe.

The plane, travelling from Punta del Este in Uruguay to Argentina with eight passengers and two crewmen aboard, crashed in a nearby lagoon on Thursday shortly after take-off, according to information provided by the airport.

"We have already seen at least six dead bodies, affected by the fire, inside the plane," said the spokesperson, Leandro Palomeque, adding that the fire had practically been extinguished.

Rescue personnel who had reached the crash site were maintaining a safe distance from the plane due to the high temperatures inside its fuselage and the combustible liquid that had spilled around it.

Rescue efforts during the night have been hampered by the lack of light and the terrain where the accident took place.

One of the travellers was a Portuguese woman, Palomeque confirmed.

According to Uruguayan media reports, the plane's passengers were employees of an Argentine company working on a construction project in Punta de Este.

A total of 30 people are involved in the rescue operation, including a team of firefighters, an air force helicopter and personnel from the Curbelo naval base that provided boats to reach the plane crash site.