A Yute Air flight carrying eight people -- including two children -- was forced to land tonight about 18 miles from the village of Tuntutuliak in southwest Alaska, said an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Initial reports were that there were no deaths or serious injuries, he said.

The Cessna 207 apparently lost engine power on a run between Kipnuk and Bethel, said senior air safety investigator Clint Johnson.

A village public safety officer and a handful of volunteers are snowmachining to the scene to take everyone on board to safety, said troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters.

Johnson said the flight Bethel shortly before 5 p.m. A dispatcher for police and troopers in Bethel said the downed plane was reported at about 5:30 p.m.

Tuntutuliak is about 40 miles from the Bering Sea Coast and 40 miles southwest of Bethel.

Around 7 p.m., the temperature at Bethel was 6 degrees below zero.