j.m@talk
10-11-2006, 05:11 PM
Up to four people have died, including a player for the New York Yankees baseball team, after an aircraft crashed into the side of an apartment building in Manhattan.
A fire broke out and several people, including a man and his pregnant wife, were trapped by the heavy smoke.
Two of the dead were on board the small plane that crashed.
The plane was registered to Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, 34. He has been a licensed pilot for eight months.
Another member of the Yankees team is believed to have been on board the plane.
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1456361.jpg
Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle
The two other deaths are believed to have been inside the building.
Authorities have said they expected there to be more casualties from the incident in the Upper East Side, on East 72nd Street and York Avenue.
The crash is believed to have been a "bad accident" and not the result of terrorism.
But fighter jets have been scrambled over several US cities as a precaution.
The blaze that engulfed at least one apartment on the 19th floor and two or three apartments on the 20th floor has now been put out.
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1456341.jpg
The building on fire
The building is up to 50 storeys high and the smoke from the fire could be seen from at least seven miles around.
A witness told Sky News: "It's very frightening. It brings back a lot of disturbing memories."
Another witness told Fox News the scene was "pandemonium".
He said: "There was a lot of horror and terror on the street when it happened. It was a loud explosion and I couldn't tell if it was the sound of a bomb... then i saw the black smoke and people were running and screaming."
One woman, who declined to give her name, said: "There's huge pieces of debris falling. There's so much falling now, I've got to get away."
The building is believed to be made up of over 180 apartment, many of which sell for over $1m.
A fire broke out and several people, including a man and his pregnant wife, were trapped by the heavy smoke.
Two of the dead were on board the small plane that crashed.
The plane was registered to Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle, 34. He has been a licensed pilot for eight months.
Another member of the Yankees team is believed to have been on board the plane.
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1456361.jpg
Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle
The two other deaths are believed to have been inside the building.
Authorities have said they expected there to be more casualties from the incident in the Upper East Side, on East 72nd Street and York Avenue.
The crash is believed to have been a "bad accident" and not the result of terrorism.
But fighter jets have been scrambled over several US cities as a precaution.
The blaze that engulfed at least one apartment on the 19th floor and two or three apartments on the 20th floor has now been put out.
http://static.sky.com/images/pictures/1456341.jpg
The building on fire
The building is up to 50 storeys high and the smoke from the fire could be seen from at least seven miles around.
A witness told Sky News: "It's very frightening. It brings back a lot of disturbing memories."
Another witness told Fox News the scene was "pandemonium".
He said: "There was a lot of horror and terror on the street when it happened. It was a loud explosion and I couldn't tell if it was the sound of a bomb... then i saw the black smoke and people were running and screaming."
One woman, who declined to give her name, said: "There's huge pieces of debris falling. There's so much falling now, I've got to get away."
The building is believed to be made up of over 180 apartment, many of which sell for over $1m.