By Brad Brooks
(Reuters) -A small plane carrying at least two people crashed in the vicinity of a shopping mall in Philadelphia, resulting in multiple casualties on the ground, federal officials and loca media reported on Friday.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the crash took place around 6:30 p.m. (0030 GMT). Local media reported it was near the Roosevelt Mall in northeast Philadelphia.
At least one house and multiple cars were on fire, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The weather was cold and rainy and with low visibility at the time of the crash.
The crash follows this week’s collision of an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C., which killed 67 in the deadliest airplane crash in the U.S. since 2009.
On Friday a Learjet 55 crashed “after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. Two people were on board,” the FAA said in a written statement, adding that the plane was headed to Springfield-Branson National Airport in Missouri.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on social media that “there were reportedly 6 people on board.”
A large fire and several fire trucks were visible at the crash scene in images broadcast by the Philadelphia CBS affiliate. The station said the status of victims was not immediately known.
The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management said on social media there was a “major incident” in the area of the reported crash but provided no other details.
Neither the Philadelphia police department nor the fire department immediately responded to requests for comment.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro wrote on social media, “We are offering all Commonwealth resources” as first responders work at the scene of the crash.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado, David Shepardson and Jasper Ward in Washington and Costas Pitas in Los Angeles; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Leslie Adler and William Mallard)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.