Clearwater, Florida - A small plane crashed into a mobile home park in the Florida city of Clearwater on Thursday, killing several people, local authorities said.

"I can confirm that we have several fatalities both from the aircraft and within the mobile homes," Scott Ehlers, Clearwater Fire Chief, told a press conference.

The disaster occurred at 7 PM ET, shortly after a nearby airport received an alert about a plane in trouble, Ehlers said.

Firefighters extinguished the flames at Bayside Waters mobile home park caused by the crash, with footage posted on social media showing a blazing inferno.

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At least three houses were damaged by fire and a fourth was directly hit by the plane, according to the fire chief.

Residents of the other houses were unharmed, he added.

The pilot of the plane, a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza V35, had reported an engine failure prior to the accident, local media reported, citing the Federal Aviation Administration. The aircraft disappeared off the radar some three miles from a runway.

Clearwater Police Chief Eric Gandy promised during a press conference that his forces will "be working through that scene as the night progresses to further clarify what we have and secure that scene."

Officers from the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board were expected to help with the investigation.