Adds context on Alaska air accidents, requests for comment

Feb 6 (Reuters) - Authorities are searching for a Bering Air passenger plane with 10 people on board that was reported missing while en route from Unalakleet to Nome, Alaska's Department of Public Safety said on Thursday.

The small turboprop Cessna Caravan plane had nine passengers and one pilot on board, the agency said on its website, adding that crews were working to get its last-known coordinates.

A disproportionate number of air taxi and commuter plane accidents occur in Alaska compared to other U.S. states, the U.S. government's National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health says.

Alaska has mountainous terrain and challenging weather. Many villages are not connected by roads and small planes are used to transport people and goods.

Bering Air is an Alaska-based regional airline that operates around 39 planes and helicopters, according to data from flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

Its last position, flying over water, was received by FlightRadar24 trackers 38 minutes after departing Unalakleet at 1438 local time Thursday (2338 GMT) for a flight that usually takes under an hour.

Bering Air did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru and Lisa Barrington in Seoul; Editing by Jamie Freed and Stephen Coates)

((ShivaniJayesh.Tanna@thomsonreuters.com;))