05/06/2014 09:10
No injuries in California military jet crash
A Marine jet crashed into a residential area in a Southern California desert community Wednesday, hitting at least one house and setting at least two on fire, but no one was injured, The Associated Press reported, citing authorities.
Despite explosive crash into a row of tightly spaced houses, 1st Lt. Jose Negrete said no people on the ground were hurt. The pilot had ejected safely and was taken to a hospital only for evaluation, Negrete said.
The Harrier AV-8B went down at 4:20 p.m. PDT in Imperial, a city of about 15,000 near the U.S.-Mexico border about 90 miles east of San Diego.
The house that suffered the brunt of the damage had a missing roof but still had walls and windows intact.
At the crash site, there was chaos as people ran in every direction, he said. The two homes were on fire and it was unclear if anyone was inside.
The plane was from Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in Arizona, said Cpl. Melissa Lee, a spokeswoman for Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. She had no details about what might have caused the accident.