A small plane crashed into a mobile home park in Clearwater, Florida, in the southeastern United States on Thursday, killing several people, local authorities said.
“I can confirm that there are several fatalities, both in the apparatus and inside the mobile homes
,” said area fire chief Scott Ehlers at a news conference.
The accident occurred at 7:00 p.m. local time (00:00 GMT Friday), shortly after a nearby airport received a warning message about a plane in difficulty, Scott Ehlers said.
Firefighters quickly rushed to the large Bayside Waters mobile home park and were able to extinguish the fires caused by the falling aircraft.
At least three houses were affected by the flames and a fourth received a direct impact from the plane, according to the fire chief.
The residents of the other houses were able to leave their homes safely.
The small plane was a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35, local media reported, citing the FAA, the federal agency responsible for aviation regulation in the United States.
The pilot reported an engine failure before the accident, according to the same source.