UTAH (NYTIMES) – A small plane with six aboard crashed in a residential section of a city in Utah on Saturday afternoon (July 25), sending a fireball hundreds of feet into the air.

Officer Jennifer Worthen, a spokeswoman for the West Jordan Police Department, said the crash caused “multiple injuries and possible casualties,” but she did not provide specifics at a news conference.

She said the plane crashed into the backyards of two homes and damaged three houses in West Jordan, which is about 15 miles south of Salt Lake City.

The authorities responded to a call of the crash around 1.40pm local time.

One person who was in one of the homes at the time was injured, Worthen said.

Several people were airlifted to nearby hospitals.

It was not clear how many people were in the homes at the time of the crash.

The plane had taken off from South Valley Regional Airport in Salt Lake City, which is less than 8km from the site of the crash.

“This community came together quite well to try to help get people out of the homes and out of the plane,” she said.

“It was a joint effort. The calls came in very quickly regarding the crash.”

Terry Robinson, 68, called 911 after she and her family first heard and then saw the crash.

“It’s scary,” Robinson said. “We’ve been in the neighbourhood for a long time so we know a lot of people.”

A fireball went up in the backyard, she said.

“It was red, hot,” she continued.

“You could see the fire go up in the air and then it was just black smoke.”

The plane was a Piper PA-32, said Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, he said.

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