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Air National Guard C-130 Crashes In Georgia, Killing At Least 5

Flames and smoke rise from the wreckage of an Air National Guard C-130 after it crashed Wednesday on a roadway outside Savannah, Ga.
James Lavine via AP
Flames and smoke rise from the wreckage of an Air National Guard C-130 after it crashed Wednesday on a roadway outside Savannah, Ga.

Updated at 4:45 p.m. ET

An Air National Guard cargo plane crashed near Savannah, Ga., on Wednesday morning. At least five people were killed, reports Amy Kiley of member station WABE.

The cargo plane, which is attached to the Puerto Rico Air National Guard's 156th Airlift Wing, was taking part in a training mission, says Capt. Jeff Bezore of the Georgia Air National Guard.

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Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said in a statement that the plane crashed shortly after taking off from the airport in Savannah in the course of a routine mission to Arizona.

Rosselló said his thoughts and prayers are with the families of the crew.

President Trump says he has been briefed on the crash, as well.

"Please join me in thoughts and prayers for the victims, their families and the great men and women of the National Guard," Trump tweeted Wednesday.

Names of the victims are not being released until next of kin are notified, Bezore and Rosselló say.

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A local firefighters union posted photos of burning wreckage on Twitter.

The crash site is a busy road near Savannah's airport, Kiley reports.

"A lot of people work in Chatham County but live in Effingham County, and Highway 21 is one of the major ways to get from one county to the other," Chelsea Sawyer, an emergency management specialist with the Chatham Emergency Management Agency, tells Kiley.

Gena Bilbo of the Effingham County Sheriff's Office says a large section of roadway has been shut down.

"It's jet fuel, and it's wreckage, and it's a crash site, so everything has to be documented thoroughly before it can be touched," Bilbo tells ABC.

This is a breaking news story. As often happens in situations like these, some information reported early may turn out to be inaccurate. We'll move quickly to correct the record and we'll only point to the best information we have at the time.

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