Four people died Thursday after a business jet crashed into a building near an airport in Connecticut shortly after takeoff, authorities said.
Emergency crews were working to evacuate the immediate area around the Trumpf Inc. building on Hyde Road in Farmington, about 10 miles west of Hartford, Farmington police said in a tweet. The building is located near Roberston Airport in Plainville, where police said the jet had taken off from.
Farmington police said two pilots and two passengers were on the plane when it crashed.
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Lt. Tim McKenzie of the Farmington Police Department told reporters at the scene that authorities received calls about the crash just before 10 a.m. He said the first officer to reach the crash site witnessed flames fully engulfing the jet and a corner of the building's exterior. Firefighters worked to put out the blaze for about 30 minutes.
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash.
The jet, a Cessna Citation 560X, was headed to Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo, North Carolina, with four people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
McKenzie said that witnesses reported that the jet appeared to experience trouble shortly after takeoff. He said the plane struck the ground before hitting the side of the building where it came to a stop.
McKenzie said that no employees who worked inside the Trumpf Inc. building reported any injuries immediately following the crash, describing the escape of employees as "miraculous."
"You've seen the pictures so far, and from the witnesses, said it was pretty intense," he said.
McKenzie said everybody who was inside the Trumpf building has been accounted for and nobody was taken to the hospital from the crash.
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A witness told FOX61 Hartford that he heard a loud explosion come from the Trumpf Manufacturing building and ran outside.
"I saw black billows of smoke," Caleb Vaichaus told the station. "I could see flames coming up from Trumpf Manufacturing and as I got closer, I got pieces of fuselage, metal strewn throughout Farmington Avenue."
He said the flames were extremely hot and were growing bigger as he looked on.
Police said an investigation into the crash was in the early stages.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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