Flight from Guantanamo Bay with 136+ on board crashes in Florida river; everyone safe
All passengers and crew aboard a Boeing 737 traveling from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are safe after the plane crashed into a river at the end of a runway at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, authorities reported late Friday.
At least 136 people were on board the charter plane at the time of the 9:40 p.m. crash, sending Navy security and emergency response teams to the scene. Photos show the plane landed in a shallow dredge of water with minimal damage.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office tweeted that "every person is alive and accounted for." Naval Air Station Jacksonville said the plane slid off the runway.
#JSO Marine Unit was called to assist @NASJax_ in reference to a commercial airplane in shallow water. The plane was not submerged. Every person is alive and accounted for. pic.twitter.com/4n1Fyu5nTS
— Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) May 4, 2019
Crews were also working to remove possible jet fuel that spilled into the St. Johns River. Authorities didn't say what apparently caused the plane to overshoot the runway.
Naval Air Station Jacksonville is a military airport about eight miles south of downtown Jacksonville.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flight from Guantanamo Bay with 136+ on board crashes in Florida river; everyone safe
