By Brad Brooks
(Reuters) -A small plane carrying at least two people crashed in the vicinity of a shopping mall in Philadelphia, resulting in multiple casualties on the ground, local media reported on Friday.
The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, citing police, said the crash took place shortly after 6 p.m. near the Roosevelt Mall in northeast Philadelphia.
At least one house and multiple cars were on fire, the newspaper reported. The weather was cold and rainy and with low visibility at the time of the crash.
The crash follows this week’s collision of an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C., which resulted in 67 deaths. It was the deadliest airplane crash in the U.S. since 2009.
The Philadelphia CBS affiliate showed images of a large fire and several fire trucks at the scene of the crash. It said the status of victims was not immediately known. The station reported two people were aboard the plane.
The Philadelphia Fox news outlet reported that six people were aboard the plane.
The Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management confirmed on social media that there was a “major incident” in the area of the reported crash, but provided no other details.
Neither the Philadelphia police department nor the fire department immediately responded to requests for comment.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro wrote on social media, “We are offering all Commonwealth resources” as first responders work at the scene of the crash.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on social media that he was monitoring the situation and working to get more information.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Leslie Adler)
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