Two people are dead after a plane crashed near the Tupelo Regional Airport in Mississippi this morning, according to officials.
Tupelo Fire Department Sergeant Michael Moody confirmed the deaths to CBS News.
The identities of the people killed have not been shared. It’s not clear what type of plane was being flown or how many people were on board.
More information will be shared this afternoon, Moody said.
Charles Johnson, an eyewitness to the crash, told CBS News affiliate WCBI that he and his wife were driving on a nearby road when he saw the plane “banking in really hard” and “saw the plume of smoke.”
“I told my wife ‘That plane crashed,'” Johnson said. He said that he pulled over to see if there was “anybody I could help,” but said there was a “massive flame” in the debris field, causing him to realize there “wasn’t anything” he could do. Emergency responders arrived, he said, including National Guardsmen, and fire trucks were on scene within three minutes, he said.
The Tupelo Regional Airport is more than 65 years old and serves as a transportation hub for northern Mississippi. The airport’s website also advertises flying lessons.
Tupelo has a population of about 38,000 people and is about 190 miles from Jackson, the state’s capital city.
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