3 killed as a small plane crashes into a Florida mobile home
Clearwater (US), Feb 2: About 10 people had enjoyed a day of golf and were having drinks inside a woman's mobile home moments before a small plane crashed and obliterated the property, an eyewitness said on Friday.
The pilot and two people on the ground were killed, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The last of the guests had lingered to finish her drink, and was in the home along with her host when it went up in flames, their neighbour Rick Renner told The Associated Press.
The pilot of the single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35 had reported engine failure shortly before crashing into the Bayside Waters mobile home park around 7 p.m. on Thursday, the FAA said.
Firefighters couldn't immediately tell how many people were inside the double-wide mobile home. But Renner said he jumped in his golf cart and reached the crash site shortly before emergency crews arrived. He spoke with a neighbour across the street who had just left the party, and checked to make sure other neighbours weren't in danger.
"It was just one big ball of flames," Renner said. "You couldn't even tell there was a mobile home there."
Clearwater Fire Chief Scott Ehlers told a late night news conference that the plane's wreckage ended up inside the mobile home, which was reduced to ashes in the blaze.
The pilot reported an emergency to St. Pete Clearwater International Airport shortly before the plane went off radar, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) north of a runway, Ehlers said. The airport is about 7 miles (11 kilometers) southeast of Clearwater.
An investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board arrived in Clearwater on Friday morning to document the scene and examine the aircraft, the agency said told The Associated Press.
The investigation will involve three primary areas the pilot, the aircraft and the operating environment and consider the flight track data, recordings of any air traffic control communications, the weather forecast and conditions at the time of the crash, witness statements and any surveillance video.
Renner had been watching television with some friends when they heard the loud boom. "The house actually shook, and the windows rattled," Renner said.
Renner said the gathering's host was a "snowbird" who spent her winters in the mobile home park for years. "Everybody is shocked," he said.
Joe Miller, 72, lived next door. He said he was drifting off to sleep when he heard an "unbelievable roar" and was thrown to the floor covered in insulation and broken glass. Wrapped in a blanket and still shaking hours later, he told the Tampa Bay Times he scrambled through the wreckage of his mobile home, which was ripped apart by the explosion, and was greeted outside by leaping flames from the home next door.
Mary Fagan, 63, who lives down the street, told the Times that her mother used to own the double-wide. She said another family member who lives in Illinois now owns the home, and neighbors called her Thursday evening, saying "Your mom's mobile is on fire."
She said she rushed to the scene, and joined other neighbors as they watched firefighters douse the flames.
After eight years in the mobile home, in a large 55-plus community off US 19, Miller told the newspaper he has no idea what he'll do now.
"The roof's blown off and I don't know what's left inside. I just know I'm lucky to be here," he said.
We’re on scene of a small plane crash at a mobile home park south of Clearwater Mall. Multiple mobile homes have caught fire. Firefighters from multiple jurisdictions are on scene. pic.twitter.com/1vBLnTnY8R
— Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department (@clearwaterfire) February 2, 2024
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EAM Jaishankar meets Jamaican PM, gifts over 10 BHISHM Cubes
Kingston (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and discussed ways to further deepen "political, economic and people-to-people cooperation."
Jaishankar also conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Holness.
"Pleased to call on Prime Minister @AndrewHolnessJM in Kingston. Conveyed the greetings of PM @narendramodi," Jaishankar posted on X.
"Discussed deepening our political, economic and people-to-people cooperation. Value his commitment towards further strengthening India-Jamaica relations," the post further read.
Also, the external affairs minister handed over 10 BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes as a gift to Jamaica.
"Formally handed over 10 BHISHM Cubes as a gift from India to Jamaica, in the presence of PM @AndrewHolnessJM, Health Minister @christufton and FM @kaminajsmith," Jaishankar posted on X.
"The BHISHM Cube mobile hospital system, designed for rapid deployment, will help Jamaica during disasters and emergencies. The gift of these cubes is a statement of friendship, a commitment to disaster preparedness, and an outcome of innovation," the post said.
Jaishankar arrived in Kingston on Saturday evening, marking the first leg of his nine-day tour of Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, aimed at further strengthening India's strategic and cultural ties with the Caribbean nations.
Earlier in the day, he interacted with the Indian diaspora and discussed India's ongoing transformation in infrastructure, human development and technology-driven governance and entrepreneurship with them.
He also highlighted the cricket bond between both countries as India gifted a scoreboard to Jamaica.
A scoreboard was dedicated at Sabina Park in Kingston. It is the home of the Jamaica cricket team and is the only Test cricket ground in the Caribbean island nation.
The minister expressed hope that the new scoreboard would witness many memorable innings, including those symbolising the enduring friendship between the two countries.
Cricket has long been a strong cultural bridge between India and Jamaica, which is part of the West Indies cricket team.
Jamaican players, including Chris Gayle, Courtney Walsh and Michael Holding, have played a major role in shaping the legacy of West Indies cricket in the international arena, contributing to its dominance in earlier decades and its continued global appeal.
