A marine jet crashed into an Imperial Valley community Wednesday, causing eight homes to be evacuated and destroying three.
Two homes caught fire and three in total were damaged. Neighbors reportedly rushed to help each other out of their homes to safety. One neighborhood resident, who lives a few homes down from the crash scene, described the incident in detail and claimed that everyone appeared to be ok. Vanessa Bernai was about to go to sleep when she heard and felt a loud “impact” so she and her parents hurried outside. She stated that she saw a large amount of smoke and that the plane did not hit a house directly but that it caused a fire, according to The New York Daily News.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the spokesperson for the San Diego 3rd Marine Aircraft announced that the jet that crashed was an AV-8B Harrier jet from the Marine Corps base in Yuma, Arizona.
The pilot was able to safely eject himself from the jet and was taken to a nearby hospital for minor injuries. No injuries have been reported from the Imperial Valley community and those who were affected will receive aid from Marines. The crash is currently under investigation.