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Video: Two people rescued after plane flying from Florida crashes into water in Turks and Caicos

Portrait of Saman Shafiq Saman Shafiq
USA TODAY

Two people flying from Florida were rescued by the United States Coast Guard after their aircraft crashed in the Turks and Caicos Islands over the weekend.

The Coast Guard, in a news release Sunday, said it was alerted of the incident around 12:15 p.m. Saturday when watchstanders received a request for assistance from the Turks and Caicos Rescue Coordination Center. A 28-foot-aircraft with two people on board had crashed about 10 miles northwest of the island of Providenciale, the Coast Guard said.

The two individuals were located around 3:30 p.m. and were flown to emergency medical services at Turks and Caicos International Airport in stable condition.

Video footage from the incident shows rescue officials hoisting up the two individuals to a rescue aircraft. The identities of the two victims were not revealed.

Plane took off from West Palm Beach

A spokesperson for the Coast Guard District Seven told USA TODAY the plane had taken off from West Palm Beach in Florida and was heading to Turks and Caicos when the incident occurred. The cause of the crash is not yet known and is being investigated by the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority, the spokesperson said.

Multiple agencies were involved in the rescue operation, the Coast Guard said.

“The coordination of this rescue was made possible by our strong relationships with our international partners,” Lt. Connor Pascale, Coast Guard liaison officer to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands said in a statement. “These are types of missions we train for, we are grateful to bring these individuals back home to their families.”

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X @saman_shafiq7.

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