Plane crash leaves three dead in Florida trailer park

At least three people are dead after a small plane crashed into a mobile home in Florida, shortly after the pilot reported an engine failure, fire officials say.

Of the victims, one was on the aircraft and two were on the ground, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Friday.

The crash damaged at least three other trailers in the mobile home park.

Air traffic control heard the pilot declare a mayday before disappearing.

Local fire officials said they were first notified of a plane crash at 19:08 local time (00:08GMT) on Thursday and quickly responded to the scene.

Mr Ehlers said at a news conference that they received the call around the same time that the airport reported a plane in trouble.

Air traffic control heard the pilot of the aircraft declare an emergency before disappearing from radar approximately three miles (4.8k) north of the runway at St Pete-Clearwater International Airport.

Videos of the crash site at the Bayside Waters mobile home park shows wreckage strewn into the street, as well as flames and thick smoke.

Chief Ehlers told reporters that four trailers were "heavily involved", and one was struck by the plane.

Three of the homes were quickly searched and found to contain no victims, Mr Ehlers said. He added that there residents were inside when the plane crashed, but they were able to flee to safety.

The FAA said in a statement that the plane was a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35 that had reported an "engine failure" shortly before the crash.

The statement said that "it is not yet known how many people were on board".

The crash will be investigated by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).