*** Small plane crashes into US mobile home park, several dead | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Small plane crashes into US mobile home park, several dead

AFP | Miami, United States                                         

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A small plane crashed into a mobile home park in the southeastern US state of Florida on Thursday killing several people, local authorities said.

"I can confirm that we have several fatalities both from the aircraft and within the mobile homes," Scott Ehlers, fire chief for the coastal town of Clearwater, told a press conference.

The accident occurred at 7 pm (0000 GMT Friday), shortly after a nearby airport received an alert about a plane in trouble, Ehlers said.

Firefighters extinguished the fires at Bayside Waters mobile home park caused by the crashed aircraft.

At least three houses were damaged by fire and a fourth was directly bit by the plane, according to the fire chief.

Residents of the other houses were unharmed, he added.

The pilot of the plane, a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35, had reported an engine failure prior to the accident, local media reported citing the Federal Aviation Administration.