Three Dead After Tokyo Plane Crash Destroys Homes in Suburb (Photos)

  

THREE were killed when a plane crashed into a Tokyo suburb, destroying three homes.

The plane crashed into a row of houses in Chofu, close to the Japanese capital, at about 2am GMT.
State broadcaster NHK said five people were aboard the plane, including the pilot, but two were killed.
The others were reportedly pulled from the wreckage injured but conscious.
Another woman was killed in one of the gutted houses, Japanese media said, with another two injured.

Minako Akiyama, a resident in the neighbourhood, said she remembered hearing the sound of the crash.

She described how she initially heard an enormous noise of something being torn.
She said: "There was kaboom! I ran upstairs, then I saw the house just over there on fire, with a tail of the plane sticking out of it."

It is understood that the plane crashed just minutes after takeoff, with the airport approximately 500 metres away.
The plane was flying to Izu Oshima Island, about 60 miles south of Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean, according to NHK.

Shocking images showed the blackened remains of three houses destroyed by the blaze the crash caused.
Two vehicles were also destroyed and another two homes damaged.
Tweeting this morning, the Tokyo Fire Department said it was fighting the flames, and attempting search and rescue in "intense heat".

Earlier this month, two were killed when a fighter jet collided with a small plane over South Carolina, USA.
The cause of the Chofu crash is currently unknown and police are investigating.
Chofu covers 21sq km and is home to approximately 220,000 people.