3 Rescued From Downed Aircraft Near Bimini

MIAMI, FL — The U.S. Coast Guard in Miami said Thursday that the crew of a good Samaritan fishing vessel rescued three people from a downed aircraft approximately 20 miles east of Bimini.

The three survivors of the downed aircraft were transferred to Bahamian authorities in Cat Cay, according to the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard officials said earlier that it was conducting a search for the downed aircraft near the Bahamas.

A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration said that the Piper PA-34 aircraft crashed in the ocean late Thursday morning.

"The aircraft departed from Great Harbour Cay Airport in The Bahamas and was flying to Miami Executive Airport in Florida," explained the FAA spokesperson.

Bimini is about 80 miles from Miami and slightly more than 47 miles to Key Largo.

On Monday, three people were hurt, including at least one seriously, when a single-engine Piper PA-28 airplane crashed shortly after takeoff Monday from Miami Executive Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.

A spokesperson for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue said at the time that one of the people in the Miami crash was taken to a trauma center while anther was taken to a local hospital. The third person was treated on the scene and released.