A twin-engine plane crashed in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Saturday morning near a Walmart and U.S. Post Office, killing five and injuring two, officials said on Saturday.
The small eight-passenger plane was carrying six people when it took off from Lafayette Regional Airport on Saturday morning, authorities said.
The plane struck a car when it crashed, Lafayette Fire Department spokesman Alton Trahan told NBC News, injuring the driver inside, who was taken to a hospital.
A spokesman for Acadian Ambulance said it transported one plane crash survivor and a person injured on the ground to hospitals. Both sustained “severe burns,” the spokesman said.
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A nearby resident said the plane hit a power line and that her home’s lights went out from the crash.
Silas Chevalier, who said she lives only 500 to 700 feet from the crash site, said she, her husband and daughter were severely startled when their building shook and the lights suddenly went out.
The crash scene was visible from their front door, and Chevalier said her husband rushed out with others to try and help.
“The wing hit our power line, which is what alarmed everyone in the apartment because the apartment complex shook,” she said. “The lights completely shut off, and then we heard a loud boom like a crash, and I heard a girl screaming, ‘It’s a plane’, as she was running away from it.”
“I literally thought the plane was right by my house, and I was looking at my daughter [as if] for the last time because we were about to blow up,” Chevalier said.
“A lot of people could have died,” she added.
Police said the plane had not hit any buildings.
Trahan said that representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board had arrived slightly before noon local time.
“We’re securing the scene for the initial response team,” he said. “They’re doing their assessment. Once they’re done with their assessment then we’ll know the next steps.”
An FAA spokesman said the cause of the crash was still unknown as of early Saturday afternoon, but noted that the plane crashed behind a nearby Walmart in a post office parking lot.
“This morning, a two-engine Piper Cheyenne, after departing from Runway 22L at Lafayette Regional Airport, crashed under unknown circumstances one mile west of the airport into the parking lot of a post office,” the spokesman said.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Minyvonne Burke and Shamar Walters contributed.