NEW YORK, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A medevac plane with six people on board crashed in a northeast Philadelphia neighborhood shortly after takeoff on Friday evening, sparking a large fire, authorities said.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, the company operating the plane, confirmed that the aircraft was carrying four crew members, a pediatric patient who had just finished treatment in Philadelphia, and the patient's escort.
"At this time we cannot confirm any survivors," the company said in a statement.
During a Friday night press conference, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said that the crash occurred shortly after 6 p.m. (2300 GMT). "As of right now, we have no reports on the number of fatalities," she said, adding that several dwellings and vehicles were impacted.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, speaking alongside Parker and other city officials at the press conference, warned of expected fatalities in this "awful aviation disaster."
"We know that there will be loss," he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had reported only two people aboard the plane, but later updated the number to six. It's unclear whether the passengers were ejected or managed to escape. Several people on the ground were reported to have been injured.
The Learjet 55 plane, en route from Philadelphia for Springfield, Missouri, had just taken off from the Northeast Philadelphia Airport when the tragedy happened, said the FAA in a statement. It came down in a busy intersection near Roosevelt Mall in a densely populated residential area. The crash set multiple homes and cars on fire.
Emergency crews are responding to the fire on site, CBS News reported.
President Donald Trump posted on social media that it was "so sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost. Our people are totally engaged. First Responders are already being given credit for doing a great job."
"We are offering all resources as (emergency services) respond to the small private plane crash in Northeast Philly," Shapiro wrote on the social platform X. "We'll continue to provide updates as more information is available."
The FAA confirmed that the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into the crash.
The crash came just days after a deadly collision between an American Airlines jet and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter over Washington, D.C., which claimed 67 lives, marking the deadliest airplane crash in the United States since 2009. ■