Authorities said they found the body of one person following a plane crash off the Carolina coast’s Outer Banks that had eight people on board, The Associated Press reported.
Carteret County Sheriff Asa Buck confirmed on Monday afternoon that one body has been recovered and identified but declined to give information about the person or anyone else on board “out of respect for the families.” He indicated he did not expect survivors.
Buck said search crews have identified three debris fields that have been moving into the Atlantic Ocean, according to the AP.
Buck added that most of the family members of the plane’s passengers live in the Carteret community, saying he’s been in close contact with them. The Coast Guard has multiple vessels involved in the search, AP reported.
Carteret County is home to about 70,000 residents, with communities that include Emerald Isle, Atlantic Beach, Cape Lookout National Seashore and the Outer Banks lighthouse, the AP reported.
The Coast Guard earlier said it received a report about a possible downed aircraft within 4 miles east of Drum Inlet from a Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point air traffic controller on Sunday.
The air traffic controller said that the aircraft was behaving erratically on the radar, disappearing from the screen, the AP noted.
“Our prayers and deep concerns go to the families and loved ones of the passengers,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) wrote in a tweet Monday. “We’re grateful for the people in our state and local agencies who are supporting the efforts of the Coast Guard and other first responders.”