At least seven people were killed when a small plane crashed in Laguna province, south of Manila in the Philippines, on Sunday afternoon, police and local disaster officials said, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
The medical evacuation plane, carrying eight people including two pilots, crashed into a private pool resort inside a subdivision in Pansol, a village in Calamba City, around 3 p.m. local time, police said.
Police said two caretakers who were at the resort were also injured and taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Pansol is famous for private hot spring resorts.
Police said the plane was transporting a patient from Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte province in the southern Philippines to Manila for a medical treatment. Among the passengers on board were a doctor and medical staff, police said.
According to witnesses, smoke engulfed the low-flying plane before it crashed and exploded in fireball. They said the plane attempted to ascend before it hit the ground.
Metal debris were falling from the plane while it was trying to maneuver, the witnesses added.
Firefighters and emergency personnel rushed to the scene minutes after the crash.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines said that a medical evacuation plane lost radar contact with the Manila Control Tower while on its way back to Manila from Dipolog City.
Investigators were sent to the crash site to determine the cause of the accident.