3 People Injured After Small Plane Crashes While Attempting to Evacuate Hurricane Milton

A six-passenger plane crashed into Tampa Bay, Fla., on Tuesday, Oct. 8, after its engine failed during takeoff, a St. Petersburg Fire Rescue spokesperson Ashlie Handy confirmed to PEOPLE. The four passengers and a dog were trying to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton.

The private Cherokee plane attempted to take off from the Albert Whitted Airport, but its engine failed around 10:50 a.m. The plane crashed and became fully submerged in the water. It sank completely in the bay, approximately 300 yards east of the St. Pete Pier. 

A nearby private boat with a St. Petersburg Police Department officer onboard “pulled the four passengers and a small dog from the water,” Handy told PEOPLE.

The passengers were taken to Demens Landing, where they were met by St. Petersburg Fire Rescue firefighters, who began treatment and transport efforts. Three of the four passengers were taken to Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital. 

The passengers have not been publicly identified. They were all men between 25 and 40, Handy said.

The passengers had 70 gallons of fuel onboard and were trying to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton, Handy said.

The group was trying to evacuate the storm, now a Category 5 hurricane, racing across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida. Residents who live on the western coast, including around the Tampa Bay area, have been told to evacuate ahead of potentially “life-threatening” storm conditions. 

“If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re going to die,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor warned residents on CNN.

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Veteran WTVJ meteorologist John Morales said that depending on what path Hurricane Milton takes, it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, Oct. 8.

Hurricane Milton is poised to be the costliest disaster in Florida’s history. That record was only set two years ago with Hurricane Ian. Morales said that Milton has already eclipsed Ian in terms of its peak intensity.