Nine people died in the crash of a private plane that crashed on Sunday in a residential area of southern Florida, about eleven kilometers from Mar-a-Lago, the residence of US President Donald Trump. US authorities confirmed that none of the people on board survived.
The aircraft, a Learjet 60 which departed from Austin, Texas, and was headed to the Bahamas, crashed near the Cresthaven neighborhood in Palm Beach County. The impact occurred near the entrance to a mobile home settlement.
“Today’s plane crash in Palm Beach County is a terrible tragedy,” said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, confirming the death toll.
Residents evacuated, no injuries reported
About 600 residents were evacuated and moved to shelters, Palm Beach County Commissioner Joel Flores said. The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, who arrived near the site of the crash, specified that there were no injuries on the ground. “It was obviously a catastrophic plane crash,” DeSantis said, adding, “It looked like a missile falling.” Videos have circulated on social media showing an aircraft falling almost vertically and a violent explosion near a busy road. The authenticity of the images has not been verified.
Trump had left the area an hour earlier
The American president was at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday, but had left the area about an hour before the accident. Air Force One took off at 11.55 local time from Palm Beach International Airport. Thunderstorms had been reported in the area. The causes of the crash remain to be clarified: at the moment there is no confirmed link between the meteorological conditions and the fall of the aircraft.