Plane carrying 11 crashes in Bahamas

NASSAU (AP) – Police in the Bahamas say a small plane has crashed near New Providence Island, killing a 77-year-old US man and injuring the ten other people aboard.

Superintendent Paul Rolle says the 10-seat Navajo Chieftain went down after departing the nearby island of Eleuthera on Tuesday morning. He says the other passengers are hospitalised. Their conditions were not immediately known.

Police have not yet identified the man who died or his hometown.

The plane was operated by Ferguson Air and was serving as a charter for Southern Air.

Police said the pilot apparently alerted officials that he was having problems and tried getting the plane close to shallow water before it lost power some 550 feet (170 metres) from the coast.