Florida: Several people were reported killed on Thursday after a small plane crashed and destroyed a mobile house in Clearwater, Florida, according to authorities. Images posted online by the Clearwater Fire and Rescue Department showed flames and smoke billowing from the destroyed home, but the exact number of casualties is unknown.
"I can confirm that we have several fatalities both from the aircraft and within" the mobile home the plane crashed into, Clearwater Fire Chief Scott Ehlers said in a press briefing late on Thursday. The aircraft, a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35, crashed into the residential area after the pilot reported an engine failure, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson said.
A person on the ground received a minor injury and refused treatment, but the pilot of the small aircraft was confirmed dead, said Ehlers. At least four homes were damaged in the mobile home park where the crash occurred as the fire spread, he said.
Here's a video of the crash
Crews were still trying to bring the situation under control and reach the bodies of those who died, CNN reported. Clearwater Police also responded to the mobile home park and will work to secure and preserve the scene, Chief Eric Gandy said during the news briefing, adding the incident is considered a serious traffic homicide crash.
“We’ll be working through that scene as the night progresses to further clarify what we have and secure that scene for NTSB and FAA’s arrival later in the evening,” the police chief said. The other mobile homes that were ablaze have been cleared, and there were no victims there, Ehlers added.
Steven Ascari, who posted video of the scene on social media, said first responders arrived quickly and put out the flames within half an hour. "We heard an explosion outside that shook the entire apartment and next thing you know a giant pillar of smoke was seen," Ascari said.
Ehlers said the pilot reported an emergency to St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport shortly before the plane went off radar about five kilometres north of a runway. The airport is about 11 kilometres southeast of Clearwater, a city of about 117,000 people on the Gulf Coast near Tampa.
(with inputs from agencies)
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