10 rescued in plane crash off Florida’s coast

Ten people were rescued after a plane crashed off Florida’s east coast Tuesday, according to officials.

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VERO BEACH, Fla. — Ten people were rescued Tuesday after a plane crashed into the ocean off Florida’s east coast, according to officials.

The Federal Aviation Administration said a Beechcraft BE30 crashed about 50 miles east of Vero Beach Regional Airport around 12:05 p.m.

The FAA said the flight had departed from Marsh Harbour Airport in the Bahamas and was headed to Grand Bahama International Airport.

Officials said 10 people were on board the aircraft.

The U.S. Coast Guard said earlier Tuesday that a C-27 aircraft was launched to search for a downed plane. All 10 people were accounted for and were being taken to emergency medical services for evaluation, according to the Coast Guard.

Health First officials confirmed to Channel 9 that patients from the crash had arrived at Holmes Regional Medical Center. An official count was not immediately available.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority said it received reports shortly before noon about an overdue aircraft with registration HP-1859 that was headed to Grand Bahama International Airport.

Officials said the pilot declared an emergency with air traffic control before communication was lost.

Freeport and Nassau air traffic control then began emergency notification protocols, alerting the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Royal Bahamas Police Force, U.S. Coast Guard and BASRA.

Search and rescue crews later found the downed aircraft off the coast of Florida.

Officials said three people suffered injuries.

The FAA said it will investigate the crash.

The cause of the crash has not been released.

Original Story:

Ten people were rescued after a plane crashed off Florida’s east coast Tuesday, according to officials.

The U.S. Coast Guard said a C-27 aircraft was launched to search for a downed plane that crashed about 80 miles off Melbourne.

Officials said all 10 people on board were accounted for and were being brought to EMS for evaluation.

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority said it received reports shortly before noon about an overdue aircraft with registration HP-1859 that was headed to Grand Bahama International Airport.

The aircraft had previously departed Leonard Thompson International Airport in Marsh Harbour, Abaco, officials said.

While en route, the pilot declared an emergency with air traffic control before communication was lost, according to the AAIA.

Freeport and Nassau air traffic control then began emergency notification protocols, alerting the Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Royal Bahamas Police Force, U.S. Coast Guard and BASRA.

Search and rescue crews later found the downed aircraft off the coast of Florida.

Officials said 10 people were rescued. Three people suffered injuries, according to the AAIA.

The cause of the crash is unknown.

The investigation is ongoing.

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