Nineteen people, including three young children, were killed on Monday night when a seaplane ferrying them to the Bahamas crashed into the Atlantic off South Beach in Miami. Holidaymakers watched from the shore as the twin-propeller plane appeared to explode in mid-air immediately after takeoff and plunge back into the sea.
Rescuers said they had recovered all 19 bodies, including the two pilots. ”We did not bring anybody out of the water who was alive,” said Chief Javier Otero of the Miami Beach fire and rescue department.
The plane belonged to Chalks Ocean Airways, which has operated in south Florida since 1919 and is one of the world’s oldest airlines. Its fleet of seaplanes is used regularly in film and television productions and Monday’s crash was its first involving a passenger flight.
Chalks regularly transfers package tourists between Miami and resorts in the Bahamas. The airline has a permanent base at the popular Atlantis resort on Paradise Island, although Monday’s flight was heading for the island of Bimini and was scheduled to take less than an hour.
Eyewitnesses said the plane got into trouble immediately after takeoff. ”It happened so fast. It turned, the wind came up and it exploded right into the water,” said Richard Lopes, who was fishing off South Beach. Others said they saw flames from at least one of the engines and that a wing had broken off before the crash. – Guardian Unlimited Â