Miami-Dade County Fire Chief Ray Jadallah said five people were killed in the cargo plane crash, while three others were taken to trauma centres in critical condition and two were treated at a local hospital.
Jadallah said the aircraft struck several vehicles after the crash, trapping some people inside. Emergency crews carried out a complex rescue operation to free those trapped in the vehicles and search for the pilot and co-pilot, who were also trapped inside the aircraft.
Officials did not confirm whether the pilot or co-pilot survived and declined to take questions following their brief statements.
Footage from the scene showed thick smoke rising from the blue-and-white Boeing 767 shortly after it arrived from Puerto Rico at 1:58pm. The aircraft, operating as Prime Air Flight 7598, caught fire following the crash, according to fire officials.
Around 60 emergency response vehicles and nearly 200 firefighters and rescue personnel from Miami-Dade Fire Rescue were deployed to the scene for search, rescue and firefighting operations, Jadallah said.
Fire officials said foam was used to extinguish a fire in the aircraft’s engine compartment.
One person was also found trapped beneath one of the vehicles involved in the crash and was freed by specialised technical rescue personnel.
Jadallah said the cause of the incident would be determined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
