A small turboprop plane on a hurricane relief mission to Jamaica crashed into a pond in a gated residential neighborhood of the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Coral Springs, killing two people shortly after takeoff and narrowly missing homes Monday, authorities and a local resident said said. The Coral Springs Police Department confirmed the deaths in a statement Monday afternoon. But police did not provide further details about the occupants of the plane and did not immediately return messages seeking more details. Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department Deputy Chief Mike Moser said emergency crews responded within minutes of a call reporting the crash. Initially, no victims were located during rescue efforts and they shifted to a recovery operation. Moser said no homes were damaged, but crews spotted some debris near the retention pond. Local aerial televised footage showed a broken fence in the backyard of one home bordering the pond where the plane went down. "There was no actual plane to be seen," Moser said. "They followed the debris trail to the water. We had divers that entered the water and tried to search for any victims and didn't find any."

Kenneth DeTrolio told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that he and his wife were in their home when the plane crashed through their backyard before hitting the water, destroying his fence and ripping down palm trees. He said the impact left his yard scattered with debris and his pool and back porch "contaminated" with fuel. The fuel smell was so strong inside his home that it took a few hours to dissipate, he added. "We heard the strangest sound. I never heard anything like it before, and apparently that was when this plane must have flown between my home and my neighbor's house," DeTrolio told the newspaper. Officials cautioned residents that police would maintain a significant presence in the area throughout Monday and Tuesday as investigators continue collecting evidence. Broward County, where the plane took off from and where the crash occurred, is home to a vibrant Caribbean American community that sprang into action to collect relief supplies following Hurricane Melissa.