Five people died when a small plane crashed into Lake Okeechobee Friday afternoon, authorities said.
At 3:26 p.m. Friday, the small plane crashed into the lake about 400 yards from shore a little north of Pahokee Airport, said Teri Barbera, spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
Rescue divers searched the lake after a person had been seen swimming away from the wreckage in the water, Barbera said.
Divers from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue found the five bodies when they searched the aircraft fuselage in the water, she said.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert which triggered a search for the twin-engine Piper aircraft, said a spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane had taken off from Tampa International Airport and went down as it approached the Pahokee airport, according to the FAA.
The Pahokee Airport is located near the southeast portion of the lake’s shore.
A man who answered the phone at the airport said he had no information about the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board will be in charge of the crash investigation.
The death investigation will be handled by the sheriff’s office violent crimes division.
tealanez@sun-sentinel.com, 954-356-4542 or Twitter @talanez