2 planes crash in mid-air, plunge into ocean off LA

Los Angeles - Two small planes collided in midair on Friday and plunged into the ocean off of Los Angeles harbour.

There was no immediate word of any survivors, authorities said.

The planes collided at around 15:30 and apparently went into the water about a few kilometres outside the harbour entrance, US Coast Guard and other officials said. It was unknown how many people were on board.

Fire and lifeguard boats and rescue divers swarmed the area.

"They found both a partial tail number and then a second tail number," Los Angeles County lifeguard Captain Ken Haskett said.

As darkness fell, about two dozen divers were on call to scour the area but the planes may be at the bottom in up to 30m of water, Haskett said.

The crash site was a 0.5km south of the Angels Gate light. The harbour entrance was closed to traffic while the search continued.