A plane carrying passengers returning from the NCAA basketball tournament crashed today near the city of Bloomington, Illinois. There were seven people on the plane and no one survived.
CBS News reported that the Sheriff for McLean County, Jon Sandage, confirmed the news at a conference that rescue officials did not find any survivors and the coroner had pronounced them deceased.
One of the victims was Torrey Ward, the head coach for Illinois State. He had tweeted a photo from Indianapolis on Monday of a plane that took him to the tournament. Another victim was identified as Aaron Leetch, the deputy director for external relations for the athletic department.
The plane, a Cessna 414, had crashed after midnight near the Central Illinois Regional Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration reportedly stated.
FoxNews.com reported that a quote from The Chicago Tribune was attributed to the father-in-law of one of the victims believed to be on board. Scott Barrows said his son-in-law, Scott Bittner, was in a plane that was supposed to arrive at midnight and his daughter received a call at 4 am and “It has been confirmed they are dead.”
According to The Chicago Tribune, another victim was Terry Stralow.
In a statement, the president of Illinois State University said “The entire campus (is) in mourning.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the plane crash and while it isn’t certain what caused it, the scene was foggy, indicating possible bad weather.