Two people are dead after a plane crashed near Tupelo Regional Airport in Mississippi this morning, officials said.
Tupelo Fire Department Sergeant Michael Moody confirmed the deaths to CBS News.
The identities of the people killed have not been shared. It is not clear what type of plane he was flying or how many people were on board.
More information will be shared this afternoon, Moody said.
Charles Johnson, an eyewitness to the accident, said CBS News affiliate WCBI that he and his wife were driving along a nearby road when he saw the plane “going very hard” and “saw the plume of smoke.”
“I told my wife ‘That plane crashed,'” Johnson said. He said he stopped to see if there was “anyone I could help” but said there was “massive flame” in the debris field, which made him realize “there was nothing” that could do Emergency services, including National Guardsmen, arrived and fire trucks were on the scene within three minutes, he said.
Tupelo Regional Airport is over 65 years old and serves as a transportation hub for North Mississippi. The airport website also advertises flight classes.
Tupelo has a population of about 38,000 and is about 190 miles from Jackson, the state capital.
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Kerry Breen
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