A small plane crashed into a residential area Saturday morning just east of Portland, Oregon, sparking a fire at a condominium complex, officials said.
Gresham Fire Chief Scott Lewis told reporters the plane crashed into “a row of three-story apartments,” four of which caught fire.
The crash happened at about 10:20 a.m. local time in the town of Fairview, about two miles east of Troutdale Airport, the Gresham Fire Department reported. The Federal Aviation Administration told CBS News that the plane that crashed was a twin-engine Cessna 421C. Lewis said the situation began when air traffic control for Troutdale Airport reported an “aircraft emergency” and then spotted a “column of smoke” west of the airport.
“The initial report was possibly that a plane crashed into these apartments, we have been able to confirm that has happened,” Lewis said, adding that crews arrived at the scene to find “heavy fire involvement.”
Lewis said the plane was believed to be carrying two passengers, but did not confirm if there were any survivors. The chief also said a resident of the apartment was missing and two people were treated for injuries at the scene.
At least five families have been displaced from their homes, he said.
Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office spokesman John Plock told reporters the plane also knocked down a utility pole and caused a separate brush fire. The brush fire was near a “swampy area” and did not spread.
“At some point during the crash it struck a utility pole … causing it to fall over,” Plock said. “So the power lines fell into a field of some kind and started a brush fire.”
Two transmission lines for power supplier Portland General were down, but Lewis said it was unclear if they were hit directly by the plane. Portland General reported that approximately 9,000 customers were without power on Saturday afternoon.
The federal National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation into the cause of the crash, the FAA said. Gresham Fire said they are also conducting their own investigation.
Fairview is about 15 miles east of downtown Portland.