A passenger seaplane crash in the US state of Washington has jolted emergency services in the early hours of the day Bulgarian time.
A Kenmore Air plane made an emergency landing and subsequently caught fire in the area of Sucia Island, the US Coast Guard officially confirmed.
According to the latest information, there were a total of 11 people on board - 10 passengers and one pilot.
The de Havilland DHC-3 Otter took off from Lake Union in Seattle at 4:30 p.m. local time towards Roche Harbor. About 45 minutes later, the pilot was forced to take emergency action in the shallow waters of Shallow Bay. Photos shared by locals and the Coast Guard show the burning plane in the water.
“We are extremely grateful that all people on board have been found and located. Our focus is now entirely on providing medical care to the injured“, Kenmore Air CEO David Gudgel said in an official statement, quoted by Reuters.
All 11 people were rescued by Coast Guard boats and regional fire departments that arrived on the scene. There were no fatalities in the incident, the “Seattle Times“ reports. According to KING5, four of the passengers were transported to hospitals in Bellingham and Orcas Island with serious injuries, including fractures, lacerations and head trauma.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have already launched a formal investigation to determine the exact causes of the forced landing and subsequent fire