Three people have been killed after a plane crash-landed into a river in Nebraska.
Emergency crews worked overnight searching desperately for survivors after the small, non-commercial aircraft crashed into the Platte River south of Fremont at around 8.15 pm on Friday.
Rescue teams, using airboats and drones, arrived just before midnight to search through the wreckage. Harrowing footage showed dozens of responders from Nebraska State Patrol, Saunders County Sheriff’s Office, Waterloo Fire Department, and Fremont Fire Department pulling debris from the water.
Tragically, authorities confirmed they were unable to save anyone on board.
Sgt. Brie Frank of the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office said: "Three bodies were recovered along with the small plane."
Investigations into the cause of the deadly crash are ongoing, and the identities of the victims have not yet been released.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will now lead the investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.
The fatal crash follows a series of recent aviation tragedies. Just days earlier, an eight-year-old girl was among six victims killed when a helicopter plunged into New York’s Hudson River. The victims included Siemens executive Agustin Escobar, his wife, their three children, and the pilot.
In another incident last weekend, a family of prominent doctors died when their plane crashed near Copake, New York, while travelling to the Catskills for a birthday and Passover celebration. Investigators later shared chilling footage of the crash site, showing the aircraft ripped apart in a muddy field just 10 miles from its intended destination.
