7:30 p.m.
Authorities say that to their knowledge there are no survivors after a cargo plane carrying nine members of the Puerto Rican Air National Guard crashed on a highway in Georgia.
The crew was flying the C-130 into retirement Wednesday when it plunged onto a highway on the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia.
A sheriff's spokeswoman, Gena Bilbo, for Georgia's Effingham County says that "miraculously" the plane didn't hit any cars or homes. Bilbo told The Associated Press, "To our knowledge there are no survivors."
The huge plane's fuselage appeared to have struck the median, and pieces of its wings were scattered across lanes in both directions. Authorities say the only part of the plane left intact was a tail section.
___
6:45 p.m.
Isabelo Rivera, adjutant general of the Puerto Rico National Guard, says the cargo plane that crashed in Georgia was more than 60 years old and was making its final flight into retirement in Arizona.
He says the C-130 plane had been used in the past to rescue U.S. citizens stranded in the British Virgin Islands following Hurricane Irma and ferry supplies to the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria last year.
He told a news conference Wednesday in Puerto Rico that the island Guard force has five other similar planes, two of which are not in use because they require maintenance.
Authorities say it's too early to say what might have caused Wednesday's crash on a highway on the outskirts of Savannah, Georgia.
__
6:35 p.m.
Military officials say the C130 and its variants historically have good safety records and a crash is considered a rare occurrence.
The most recent accident before Wednesday's deadly crash in Georgia happened July 10 when a Marine Corps KC130T transport plane crashed in Mississippi, killing 15 Marines and a Navy sailor when it slammed into a soybean field near Itta Bena. Officials have yet to release any reports that say why that plane crashed. It took more than two weeks for the military to collect pieces of the plane from a debris field stretching for several miles (kilometers).
The Navy classifies its most serious incidents as Class A mishaps, involving death, permanent disability or more than $2 million in damage. Records show only two in-flight Class A mishaps were recorded before the Mississippi crash, both in 2002. A KC-130R experienced a flash fire and crashed into a mountain in Pakistan while nearing an airfield, killing seven people. A KC130F crash landed shortly after taking off in California, causing injuries but no deaths.
___
6:15 p.m.
Puerto Rican authorities say there were nine people aboard the cargo plane that crashed outside the Savannah, Georgia, airport. A local official says there were apparently no survivors.
The Air Force says the Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane belonged to the 156th Air Wing out of Puerto Rico. The top official of the Puerto Rico Air National Guard, Adjutant Gen. Isabelo Rivera, says nine were confirmed aboard.
A local official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, says there are no apparent survivors. The official spoke on condition of not being identified, saying he wasn't authorized to release the death toll.
---
Associated Press writer Russ Bynum contributed to this report.
___
4:35 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he is sending his thoughts and prayers to the victims of a military cargo plane crash in Georgia that killed at least five National Guard members from Puerto Rico.
Trump tweeted Wednesday: "I have been briefed on the U.S. C-130 'Hercules' cargo plane from the Puerto Rico National Guard that crashed near Savannah Hilton Head International Airport. Please join me in thoughts and prayers for the victims, their families and the great men and women of the National Guard."
The Air National Guard C-130 plane crashed earlier Wednesday onto a busy highway after taking off from the airport.
Senior Master Sgt. Roger Parsons of the Georgia Air National Guard says the cause of the crash isn't yet clear.
___
4:10 p.m.
Denise Barnes was at her desk working at a construction firm when she heard a boom so loud it shook the building.
She says workers initially thought something had exploded out back of their building but adds, "we saw black smoke just billowing with flames shooting up."
A co-worker told Barnes he had seen something fall from the sky. Barnes frantically called 911.
An Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane crashed Wednesday onto a busy highway after taking off from an airport. At least five National Guard members from Puerto Rico were killed.
Barnes says the crash was hundreds of yards (meters) from her but flames were so intense "you could feel a little bit of heat coming off of it."
Mark Jones was nearby when he says he saw the plane low in the air. He says "it almost looked like it stalled and just went almost flat right there in the middle of the highway."
___
3:50 p.m.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello and the top official in the Puerto Rico National Guard are expressing their sorrow following the crash of an Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane in Georgia.
Rossello and Adjutant Gen. Isabelo Rivera said Wednesday afternoon that their prayers are with the families of those who were on the plane. They say they are awaiting more information about the deadly crash and have pledged their full support to the families of the crew and passengers.
The plane crashed about 11:30 a.m. shortly after taking off from Savannah, Georgia. The plane was bound for Arizona.
The governor's statement says the names of the victims are being withheld pending notification of their families.
___
3:35 p.m.
A spokesman for the Georgia Air National Guard says authorities don't yet know what caused a military cargo plane to crash after taking off from a Savannah, Georgia, airport, killing at least five.
Senior Master Sgt. Roger Parsons told reporters authorities are still working to make the crash site safe for investigators to come in.
The C-130 cargo plane belonged to the 156th Air Wing out of Puerto Rico. It crashed around 11:30 a.m. near the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.
___
2:20 p.m.
A spokesman for the Puerto Rico National Guard says the military cargo plane that crashed outside Savannah, Georgia, was on its way to Arizona.
At least five people were killed in the Wednesday crash. Maj. Paul Dahlen says it's a sad day for Puerto Rico's National Guard.
The C-130 cargo plane crashed around 11:30 a.m. near the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.
___
1:15 p.m.
Chatham County Deputy Coroner Tiffany Williams says police tell her two people have been killed in the crash of a military cargo plane near an airport in Savannah, Georgia.
Williams said she didn't have any other details on the deaths Wednesday.
The Air Force says the plane was an Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane belonged to the 156th Air Wing out of Puerto Rico. The 165th Air Wing out of Savannah was responding to the crash.
___
12:25 p.m.
The Air Force says an Air National Guard C-130 cargo plane has crashed near an airport in Savannah, Georgia.
In a tweet, the Chatham County Emergency Management Agency says the plane crashed Wednesday at the intersection of two roads.
There was no immediate word of injuries.
A photo tweeted by the Savannah Professional Firefighters Association shows the tail end of a plane and a field of flames and black smoke along the side of a road as an ambulance stands nearby.
(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
---------------
A Georgia Air National Guard spokesman says at least five people have died in a military plane crash near the Savannah airport.
According to a news release from the 165th Airlift Wing in Savannah, the C-130 Hercules cargo plane from the Puerto Rico Air National Guard crashed around 11:30 a.m. while performing a training mission.
The Federal Aviation Administration says the plane was bound for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.
This is a developing story.