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At least nine people are dead after a plane crashed in Florida’s Palm Beach County on Sunday and erupted into a huge fireball.
The Learjet 60 went down at 12:50 p.m. in a neighborhood near Cresthaven in South Florida.
The flight to the Bahamas departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas.
“Today’s plane crash in Palm Beach County, Florida is a terrible tragedy,” Duffy wrote.
“Please join me in praying for the families and loved ones of those we lost – the Federal Aviation Administration & US Department of Transportation are closely monitoring this crash and will share updates as we learn more.”
It was not immediately clear if anyone on the ground was injured or what caused the jet to crash.
Crews with the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration were rushed to the scene, near Military Trail and 10th Avenue North.
The accident is located about eight miles from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump was in Iowa for a midterm election rally around the time of the crash.
Jim Reynolds, a spokesman for Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, said the plane was a private plane with tail number N722BD, but he could not yet provide details about who was on board.
“This is definitely a tragedy,” he said.
Video captured by witnesses in their cars showed that the plane nose-dived from the sky and exploded in a huge ball of flames on a large road, centimeters from passing cars.
The accident left a huge crater in the pavement, with flames seen leaping near a road traffic pole.
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Pieces of pavement were engulfed in flames as people stood nearby, shocked that it had landed feet from houses. Black smoke billowed from the hole in the ground.
It was not clear whether the accident caused damage to any homes.
