New York: Multiple people on board a private plane died after it crashed into a suburban neighbourhood in San Diego amid foggy weather early morning on Thursday (around 5 pm IST), igniting several cars and some homes.
The plane has the capacity to carry 8 to 10 people, but it’s not clear yet how many were on the aircraft when the accident occurred, Assistant San Diego Fire Chief Dan Eddy said at a news conference.
Authorities are investigating whether the plane hit a power line, he said.
The plane crashed just before 4 am, into the US military’s largest housing neighbourhood. At least one house was hit, as was evident from the charring and collapsed roof, as well as half a dozen vehicles, reported AP.
Ten homes were damaged, but no one had to be transported by emergency crews.
Officials said it was a flight – most likely a Cessna Citation II jet — coming in from the Midwest.
“I can’t quite put words to describe what the scene looks like, but with the jet fuel going down the street, and everything on fire all at once, it was pretty horrific to see,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said.
Besides fully charred cars, there were tree limbs, glass and pieces of white and blue metal scattered on the road. Black smoke billowed for a long time as the site continued to burn.
More than 50 police officers were at the scene and evacuated homes. At least 100 residents were displaced to an evacuation centre at a nearby elementary school, and multiple animals were rescued.
Christopher Moore, who lives one street over from the crash site, said he and his wife were awakened by a loud bang. He saw smoke through the window. The couple grabbed their three young boys and ran out of the house.
“It was definitely horrifying for sure, but sometimes you’ve just got to drop your head and get to safety,” he said.
