A glider and a small aircraft collided in mid-air in Austria Sunday killing a local couple and a German woman, medics and security officials said.

The two crafts were about to land when they collided some 60 feet (20 metres) above the ground at a small airport in Zell-am-See, near the city of Salzburg, the local head of the fire brigade, Gerhard Blassnigg, said.

Three people aboard the gliders were killed instantly while a fourth was flown by helicopter to a Salzburg hospital.

Airport spokesman Paul Empl said the weather and visibility were good at the time of the accident.