2 bodies found after small plane crashes into Connecticut homes

By Michelle McLoughlin

EAST HAVEN, Connecticut (Reuters) - Two bodies have been located after a small plane crashed into two houses in East Haven, Connecticut, on Friday, and the death toll could rise, Governor Dannel Malloy said.

Emergency workers have "visuals" on two bodies in the basement of one of the houses, the governor told reporters.

The twin-engine propeller plane had been attempting to land at nearby Tweed New Haven Airport in rainy weather.

Earlier, East Haven Deputy Fire Chief Tony Moscato said officials believed that at least three people, including the pilot and two children in one of the houses, were missing.

Emergency crews were not certain if there were other people on the plane with the pilot, and the destruction at the scene made the workers' job more difficult, the governor said.

"This is a disaster site," Malloy said. "There's a lot of damage."

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration were on the scene.

Police cordoned off the area, where smoke could be seen rising from between the houses, and pieces of the plane's wing were visible in the wreckage. Part of the roof of one of the houses had collapsed.

(Writing and additional reporting by Richard Valdmanis; Editing by David Gregorio, Gary Hill)