Nine people are feared dead after a military cargo plane crashed in the US state of Georgia, officials say.
A US military cargo place is engulfed in flames and smoke down after it crashed in Savannah, Georgia on 3 May, 2018. Photo: AFP
Puerto Rico National Guard spokesman Maj Paul Dahlen said nine people were confirmed to have been on the plane.
"Consisting of five crew members and four additional passengers," he said. Earlier reports suggested there were just five people onboard.
Georgia Air National Guard Captain Jeffrey Bezore said the deceased would be named upon notification of their next of kin.
Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said that his thoughts were with the families of those involved while he waited for more information.
"They will receive our support and that of the National Guard of Puerto Rico in this process," he added.
Chatham County deputy coroner Tiffany Williams confirmed at least two people had been killed. She could not say whether they had been aboard the four-engine plane or on the ground.
"All I can confirm is that we have two fatalities that were brought to us," she said.
The Air Force confirmed there were fatalities but declined to provide a number.
The plane was a Puerto Rico Air National Guard weather reconnaissance aircraft, a cargo workhorse for the US military. It was used to penetrate tropical depressions, hurricanes and winter storms to gather data.
Television footage and images on social media showed thick clouds of black smoke billowing from the crash site about 175 miles southeast of Atlanta.
Local members currently on scene assisting with clean up. pic.twitter.com/lSuRcqTx56
— IAFF574 Savannah (@IAFF574) May 2, 2018
Gena Bilbo, a spokeswoman for the Effingham County Sheriff's Department, said at a news conference that wreckage was scattered across a highway intersection and train tracks but no cars had been hit.
Instagram user pilotgabe posted a picture of the scene from the Hilton Head International Airport.
Firefighters were on the scene, the Savannah Professional Firefighters Association tweeted.
- Reuters / BBC
