Ten people were rescued Tuesday after a small aircraft crashed about 50 miles off the coast of Vero Beach, Florida, according to the U.S. Coast Guard and the Federal Aviation Administration.
The U.S. Coast Guard Southeast said in a social media post at 3 p.m. that a Coast Guard aircraft was launched to search for the downed plane after reports of the crash.
“Reportedly, all 10 people are accounted for & are being brought to EMS for further eval,” the Coast Guard said on X. Officials added that the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
The FAA said the aircraft was a Beechcraft BE30 that crashed into the ocean about 50 miles east of Vero Beach Regional Airport around 12:05 p.m. Tuesday. According to the FAA, the flight departed from Marsh Harbour Airport and was headed to Grand Bahama International Airport. Ten people were confirmed on board.
CBS News Miami / Google Maps
Authorities have not released details about the conditions of the people on board beyond confirming all 10 survived, including whether anyone suffered injuries or the severity of any possible injuries.
An official with the Royal Bahamas Defence Force told CBS News that Bahamian authorities assisted with coordinating the rescue effort but did not deploy any assets to the scene.
“Our role was to assist with the coordination of the rescue effort,” the official said. “We did not physically assist through the use of our assets. U.S. authorities were able to rescue the passengers in a timely manner due to their proximity to the United States.”
The FAA said it will investigate the crash.
