One person, identified as Valerie Jacksonwas rescued and at least three persons are missing after a small plane that was delivering newspapers went down in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Ms. Jackson who was fished out of the water at about 2:00 pm on Saturday told rescue personnel that there were three additional passengers on the plane.
According to an AP report David Mapp, interim executive director for the island’s Port Authority says the plane went down just eight miles (13 kilometers) south of the airport in St. Thomas.
The plane had been delivering newspapers to the island of St. Croix and picked up a couple passengers on before heading back to St. Thomas.
Mapp said rescue crews are still trying to recover more bodies. He said he did not know what type of plane was involved.
The plane’s pilot Captain Kirby is from Island Harbour Anguilla. He owns Rainbow International Airlines which is responsible for air evacuation within the region.
This is the second plane to have crashed in the region over a seven-day period.
On Monday (Oct. 8), a Fly Montserrat had crashed shortly after takeoff from the V.C. Bird International Airport kiling three people.
The Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority said “significant quantities of water” had been found in the engine of the ill-fated plane.
Just yesterday the airline was involved in another incident when a plane veered off the runway. According to eyewitnesses it stopped a short distance from a cliff. According to Fly Montserrat owner Nigel Harris, passengers had disembarked safely and there were “no injuries or damages to the aircraft”.
The John Osborne Airport was closed after the incident.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR:
This website previously reported that five passengers had been found alive and well. The story was sourced from SKN Vibes who cited St. Martin News Network for their information. St. Martin News Network has since updated their story and explained that they were intially given incorrect information from their sources in aviation. We sincerely apologize to anyone who read this erroneous information. CaribbeanCelebs.com strives to provide readers with reliable information and we again apologize for the error in this instance.
