At least 12 people, including an infant, have died in a small plane crash in the northwestern Brazilian state of Acre, officials said.

The plane that took off from the airport in Rio Branco, the capital of Acre, crashed into the Amazon rainforest, according to a government statement on Sunday.

All 12 people on board the aircraft lost their lives in the crash.

A number of ambulances and firefighting teams were dispatched to the scene, the statement said.

The airline to which the plane belonged expressed profound sorrow for the accident, stating that the aircraft caught the fire immediately upon impact.

An investigation into the incident has been initiated. (Anadolu Agency)