A small turboprop carrying hurricane relief supplies to Jamaica crashed into a pond in Coral Springs, Florida, on Monday morning, just minutes after takeoff, authorities said.
“There was no actual plane to be seen,” Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department Deputy Chief Mike Moser said. “They followed the debris trail to the water. We had divers that entered the water and tried to search for any victims and didn’t find any.”
According to The Associated Press, no homes were damaged, though debris was scattered near the pond, and a broken fence was visible in a backyard bordering the crash site. Rescue efforts quickly turned into recovery operations, and it was unclear how many people were aboard the aircraft.
The Beechcraft King Air plane departed from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport at 10:14 a.m., with emergency crews responding just five minutes later. Federal aviation officials will investigate the cause of the crash, and Coral Springs police are handling recovery efforts.
The plane, manufactured in 1976 and registered to International Air Services, was part of a relief mission for Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa. The Category 5 storm struck the island on Oct. 28, destroying thousands of homes and leaving more than 2,000 people in shelters.
Broward County, home to a large Caribbean-American community, had mobilized to collect relief supplies for the hurricane-ravaged island. Moser said authorities found no victims during the initial search.
