Authorities say 15 people were taken to hospital Wednesday evening when a skydiving aircraft got off the runway and crashed in a forest near an airport in southern New Jersey.
The incident at Crosskeys Airport, about 21 miles southeast of Philadelphia, involved a 15-person Cessna 208b, according to a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.
Aerial footage of a crashed plane shows it in the forest, with some debris nearby. Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles surround the scene.
Hospital spokesman Wendy A. Marano has three people evaluated at the Trauma Center at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, and eight people with fewer serious injuries are being treated at the emergency department Wendy A. Marano. Four other patients with “minimal injuries” are also awaiting further evaluations, she said. She was unable to provide the exact nature of the injury.
Members of the hospital’s EMS and trauma department were at the crash site, she said.
A person who answered the call at Cross Keys airport on Wednesday said he had no information and introduced the question to Skydive Cross Keys, a commercial skydiving business located at the airport. Skydive Cross Keys did not immediately respond to emails from the Associated Press requesting comment.
Gloucester County Emergency Management has warned the public on its Facebook page to avoid the area so emergency vehicles can access the site.
