Two rescued from plane caught in power lines

Two people have been rescued from a small plane in the US state of Maryland, several hours after it crashed into power lines.

The pair were taken to hospital after the incident in Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, which caused widespread power outages in the surrounding area.

Maryland State Police as pilot Patrick Merkle, 65, of Washington, DC, and passenger Janet Williams, 66, of Louisiana, were rescued from the single-engine plane that was stuck about 100ft above the ground.

Montgomery County Fire Chief Scott Goldstein said the plane was secured to a pylon at 12.16am (5.16am GMT) and the first occupant was removed from the plane at 12.25am (5.25am GMT).

The second occupant was extricated at 12.36am (5.36am GMT).

Both suffered “serious injuries” from the crash, and hypothermia was also an issue, the fire chief said.

They were transported to local trauma centres with non-life threatening injuries, Mr Goldstein added.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that the single-engine plane, which had departed White Plains, New York, crashed into a power line tower near Montgomery County Airpark in Gaithersburg at around 5.40pm on Sunday.

The FAA identified the plane as a Mooney M20J.

Utility contractors had to disconnect the high-tension wires to make it safe for rescuers to stabilise the plane.

The utility Pepco had reported that about 120,000 customers were without power in Montgomery County, but most of them, outside of the crash site, had their electricity restored before the people were pulled from the plane.

The crash took place in Gaithersburg, a city of 69,000 people about 24 miles north-west of Washington, DC.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate what happened.