Nine killed as business jet crashes in fiery Florida neighbourhood near Mar-a-Lago

A business jet fell out of the sky over a residential stretch of Palm Beach County, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, killing all nine people aboard. It hit the ground at about 12:50 local time (17:50 GMT) near Cresthaven, roughly nine miles (14 km) from Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's resort. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called it a "horrific tragedy."

Images from the scene show a crater in the middle of a road, with patches of fire still burning and chunks of concrete and pieces of the Learjet 60 scattered around it. The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft had taken off from Austin, Texas, and was bound for the Bahamas. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said it came down on Military Trail, a six-lane road lined with businesses and eateries.

The last moments are partly preserved in air traffic control audio. According to CBS News, the BBC's US partner, the pilot first reported the plane was descending at 10,000 feet per minute. He then declared an emergency, shouting that the jet was in an overspeed condition and descending at 20,000 feet per minute. "We're gonna crash ... We're out of time," he told the tower. US media reports and flight analysis indicate the aircraft was dropping hundreds of feet every second before impact.

Unverified footage on social media appears to come from a dash camera. It shows vehicles moving along a suburban street before an aircraft plunges almost vertically into the ground and erupts in a large fireball. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, speaking to reporters after the crash, said of the video: "It's a jarring thing. It's like a missile coming down, and a massive explosion, debris going everywhere."

Who was on the plane has not been made clear. DeSantis said officials had no reports of anyone on the ground being killed or injured. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue nonetheless declared a mass casualty incident.

The aftermath reaches beyond the crash site. DeSantis and local officials said 600 residents of a nearby trailer-park community were being evacuated. The impact badly damaged local infrastructure, including water lines, and they said Military Trail would stay closed for at least 30 days. Thunderstorms had been reported in the area at the time of the crash, and heavy rain was falling during the news conference.

Trump had been at Mar-a-Lago that morning. He left from a nearby airport on Air Force One about an hour before the jet went down.

Duffy said the FAA is sending a team to the scene to assist the National Transportation Safety Board, which will lead the investigation. "Please join me in praying for the families and loved ones of those we lost," he said. The NTSB's work will have to establish what sent the aircraft into its steep, fast dive, and the identities of the nine people aboard are still to come.