UPDATE: All 11 occupants are accounted for after a Kenmore Air seaplane crash landed north of Orcas Island on Thursday evening, the US Coast Guard announced just before 7:30 p.m.
“Several patients are being transported to local hospitals for medical evaluation and treatment,” the agency said.
Their conditions were not immediately available, and authorities did not speculate on a possible cause of the crash.
Bystander video showed the aircraft flying low and unsteadily near some boats before appearing to slam into the shoreline. The plane then caught fire.
Earlier Report: A Kenmore Air seaplane went down in the water in San Juan County on Thursday afternoon, prompting a large-scale rescue response as crews worked to reach up to 10 people believed to be on board.
Emergency crews responded around 5:25 p.m. after reports of an aircraft that made an emergency landing in North Beach Shallow Bay on Sucia Island, north of Orcas Island, according to the US Coast Guard.
A spokesperson for Kenmore Air said the flight departed Seattle’s Lake Union at about 4:30 p.m. Thursday and was headed to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island.
Kenmore Air said the aircraft was carrying 10 people. Earlier, Orcas Island Fire & Rescue said as many as 11 patients could be involved. Officials said those numbers remain preliminary.
The U.S. Coast Guard is on scene conducting rescue operations.
Weather may have been a factor, although officials have not determined a cause.
“The Kenmore Air seaplane crash is in the vicinity of this evening’s lingering thunderstorms. Lightning and locally gusty winds were present around the San Juan Islands at the time of the accident,” KOMO News meteorologist Shannon O’Donnell wrote on X.
Responding agencies include:
- Orcas Island Fire & Rescue
- San Juan Island Fire & Rescue
- Lopez Island Fire & Rescue
- San Juan County Parks
- U.S. Coast Guard
- San Juan County Sheriff’s Office
Officials have not released information about the type of aircraft, the condition of those on board or what caused the aircraft to go down.
