Two bodies have been found after a small plane with four people aboard crashed in the Atlantic Ocean about three miles off the coast of Fort Lauderdale Tuesday night, authorities said.
The bodies of one man and one woman were located near the debris field from the Learjet 35 aircraft, Fort Lauderdale city spokesman Matt Little said in an email.
U.S. Coast Guard rescue crews were searching early Wednesday for two people still missing.
"We still have a very active search and rescue case going on this morning off the coast of Fort Lauderdale," Coast Guard Lt. Commander Gabe Somma said at a news conference Wednesday morning. "We continue at this hour to be fully engaged in a search and rescue effort."
Somma said crews were searching a debris field that was approximately 20 square miles and said that 1,000 pounds of debris had been recovered.
Coast Guard Lt. Paul Turner said crews would be searching throughout the day Wednesday.
The plane took off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport at 7:51 p.m. Tuesday, airport spokesman Greg Meyer said.
Its last tower communication was at 8:20 p.m., he said.
The bodies of the dead were recovered at about 8:45 p.m., according to authorities.
Two pilots and two passengers were aboard the Mexican-registered Learjet 35, whose intended destination was Cozumel, Mexico, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said in an email.
A Coast Guard spokeswoman confirmed that it was a medical flight but no other details were known.
An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Miami, two Coast Guard cutters and two small boats, a Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue boat crew and three Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission search and rescue crews were contributing to the effort.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified.
Below: Wreckage from the plane is brought aboard a Coast Guard boat. U.S. Coast Guard photo.
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Photo Credit: NBC 6 South Florida