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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.

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Comments

Several users on ‘X’ on Thursday and Friday shared claims that LPG cylinders booked at 11:45 AM were being delivered within just two hours, prompting humorous and curious reactions online. 

Meanwhile netizens quickly responded to the sudden similar bookings by many users.

One ‘X’ user tweeted, “Booked a Bharat Gas LPG cylinder at 11:45 AM today and it was delivered at my doorstep by 1:30 PM. Without any extra cash or charges. I asked the delivery guy if there was any shortage. His reply was negative. This copy is circulating 👇.”

Another user questioned the timing, asking, “How can all book at the same time?” while a separate post wondered, “Why is everyone booking LPG at 11:45 AM?”

Many netizens joked about the posts. One wrote, “Everyone is booking LPG gas cylinders at 11:45 AM, and surprisingly it’s getting delivered in two hours. IT cell has some special gas agency. Is it LPG or Naale ka Gas?” 

One urged, “Please tell these hundreds of people to book at 11:45 AM too,” sharing a photo of people standing in ques.

“Booked an Indane Gas LPG cylinder at 11:46 AM today and it wasnt delivered at my doorstep by 2:30 PM. I asked the delivery guy, why didn't he deliver. He replied cylinders were delivered only to people who booked exactly at 11:45 AM,” wrote another. 

 

One user asked, “What was the auspicious occasion to book at 11:45 AM?” while another tweeted, “I am going to book a gas cylinder at 11:45 AM tomorrow, hope Modi Ji will deliver it by 1:30.”

“I want to ask one thing… If I book an LPG cylinder tomorrow at 11:45 AM and the gas agency is unable to deliver it by 1:30 PM, will it be free like Domino’s pizza, or will I get it at some discounted price? BJP IT Cell experts, please confirm so that I can book my LPG cylinder tomorrow exactly at 11:45 AM,” said another humorously.

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