1 person dies after 2 planes collide over Florida lake; visuals surface

Two small planes collided in midair over a central Florida lake on Tuesday afternoon, and at least one person was dead, authorities said.

Rescue workers were continuing to search Lake Hartridge in Winter Haven for possible survivors Tuesday evening, Polk County Sheriff's Office Chief of Staff Steve Lester said during a news conference. One person was pronounced dead after rescuers attempted CPR, he said.

Winter Haven is located about 65 kilometers southwest of Orlando.

The Federal Aviation Administration identified one of the planes as a Piper J-3 floatplane, but the make of the other aircraft wasn't immediately known.

Footage of the wreckage has surfaced on the internet.

Authorities had no information on number of people boarded on both planes

Deputies said they didn't immediately know how many people were in the planes, where they had taken off or what caused the crash. The lake where the planes went down is located immediately to the southeast of the Winter Haven Regional Airport.

Witnesses recalled the planes crashing into each other and then immediately falling into the water, Lester said. The wing of one plane was sticking out of the water, while the other aircraft had settled about 7 metres below the surface, officials said.

Lester said the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

Similar incident reported earlier in August 2022

Multiple people were feared dead after two planes collided while attempting to land in Watsonville, California, authorities said.

The crash took place at 2.56 p.m. on Aug 18 at the Watsonville Municipal Airport and multiple agencies rushed to the scene at 3.37 p.m., Xinhua news agency quoted the city authorities as saying.

A single-engine Cessna 152 and a twin-engine Cessna 340 collided while the pilots were on their final approaches to the airport, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a preliminary statement.

One person was on board the Cessna 152 and two people aboard the Cessna 340. No injuries were reported to anyone on the ground, according to the statement.