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Nine people have been killed after a private jet crashed into a residential neighbourhood in Palm Beach County, Florida, near US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
The Learjet 60 was travelling from Austin, Texas, to the Bahamas when it went down near the Cresthaven community in southern Florida.
The crash site is less than seven miles from Mar-a-Lago, where Trump had been staying before departing through a nearby airport about an hour before the incident.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the incident as a “cataclysmic plane crash”, saying there were no immediate reports of injuries among people on the ground.
Authorities evacuated about 600 residents of a mobile home park in the affected area as emergency teams responded to the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are expected to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Reports indicated that storms were present in the area at the time of the crash. Cockpit audio also reportedly captured references to moderate turbulence, icing and precipitation before the aircraft began a steep descent.
In the recording, one of the occupants was heard saying, “We’re going to crash into the ground,” before communication with the aircraft was lost.
All nine people aboard the jet died in the crash, while authorities had not reported any casualties among residents on the ground.
