Two people were killed, and 18 others sustained injuries after a small plane crashed into a commercial building in Southern California, authorities confirmed.
The Fullerton Police Department reported that 10 individuals were hospitalized following the incident, while eight others were treated for minor injuries at the scene and released.
The crash involved a single-engine Van’s RV-10 aircraft and occurred at 2:15 PM PST (10:15 PM GMT), according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Officials have not yet disclosed details about the cause of the crash, and it remains unclear whether the deceased were aboard the plane or working inside the building.
Police have evacuated nearby buildings and urged the public to avoid the area.
Congressman Lou Correa, representing the Orange County district located approximately 25 miles (40 km) south of Los Angeles, identified the affected building as a furniture manufacturing facility.
In a post on X, Correa stated that at least 12 of the injured were factory workers.
Aerial images reveal portions of the aircraft lodged inside the building, which also caught fire. The flames were extinguished by fire crews.
Local security footage reportedly captured a fiery explosion at the crash site, as shared by media outlets.
“People are just shaken over the situation,” witness Mark Anderson told KRCA-TV.
“It was just a large boom, and then one of the people went out and said, ‘Oh my gosh, the building’s on fire.'”
The area where the plane crashed is near the Fullerton Municipal Airport, about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Disneyland.
The plane appears to have been turning back to the airport shortly after takeoff, according to KRCA-TV.
Around 100 people were ultimately evacuated from the Michael Nicholas Designs furniture factory, according to the Orange County Register newspaper.
Juanita Ramirez, an employee, told the newspaper that she heard a loud bang before seeing a large ball of fire flying towards her.
“It felt like a dream,” she said.
This marks the second plane crash in the area within the past two months, according to CBS, the BBC’s US partner.
On November 25, another aircraft crashed into a tree approximately one block from the site of the latest incident. Fortunately, no significant injuries were reported in that earlier crash.