Several people were killed Thursday night after a plane’s engine failed and crashed into a Florida mobile home park, sparking an inferno that damage “multiple homes,” authorities said.
Clearwater Fire Chief Scott Ehlers confirmed there were “several fatalities” in the crash, both from the aircraft and inside a home on the ground. He said it remains a “very complicated” scene, and that he doesn’t have a definitive number on total fatalities.
Few others details about the crash were immediately released, but Ehlers said his department called on neighboring agencies for assistance after the plane plummeted just moments after its pilot called out “mayday, mayday, mayday.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said the crash occurred around 7 p.m.
While much remains unknown, there has been some positive signs from authorities on the ground, with Ehlers telling reporters in a brief news conference that he was “expecting more injuries” than what occurred.
Ehlers said he didn’t yet know fate of the pilot, their destination, or where the plane took off from, but said the crash occurred about three miles from St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport.