'Multiple fatalities' after small plane crash in San Diego neighbourhood

Several people are believed to have died after a small plane crashed into a residential street in San Diego on Thursday morning.

No residents were seriously injured, but there was "more than one fatality" among the passengers on board, Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy said.

Several homes were destroyed and cars caught fire after the private aircraft crashed in the Murphy Canyon residential neighbourhood of the city. Around 100 people have been evacuated from nearby areas, police said.

The small plane was a Cessna 550 aircraft, said the Federal Aviation Administration, which can carry eight to 10 people including the pilot.

Authorities have not revealed the identities of the passengers on board.

In a news conference, Assistant Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said there was "jet fuel all over the place", and that the main goal was to search all the homes and get people to safety.

He confirmed there was a "direct hit to multiple homes". No one in those homes are believed to be seriously injured.

San Diego police said on social media that one person had been hospitalised, and two were treated and released. They added that the area was expected to be closed all day.

Footage from the scene shows the charred cars littered across the street.

Local resident Christopher Moore told the Associated Press that he and his wife were woken by a loud bang in the early hours of the morning.

Mr Moore said they looked out the window and saw smoke, and the couple grabbed their two young children and fled.

Once on the street, they saw a car engulfed in flames.

"It was definitely horrifying for sure, but sometimes you've just got to drop your head and get to safety," Mr Moore said.

A marine who lives near the crash site told Fox News he heard a "strange whistling wheezing noise" followed by a "boom and a shake in the house".

The aircraft appeared to be heading to Montgomery Field, an airport located 10km (six miles) north of downtown San Diego.