Crews look for survivors of plane crash on Florida coast

MARINELAND, Fla. (AP) — Crews are searching for survivors of a small plane that crashed along Florida’s Atlantic coast.

Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Chief Mark Strobridge tells local news outlets the crash happened late Thursday in a marshy area near Marineland. He says they’re searching for survivors by air, sea and land.

Strobridge says two people may have been on board the Piper PA44, which left Brunswick, Georgia.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it lost contact with the plane around 11:15 p.m. when it was some 22 miles (35 kilometers) north of Ormond Beach. A witness told investigators the plane was “flying low with an engine sputtering.”

Crews from the Flagler and St. Johns sheriff’s offices, St. Augustine police, the U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are searching for the plane.