Eight people have been reported dead after a private plane crashed into a a vacant, two-story office building in a Milan suburb. The plane was carrying six passengers and two crew members. 

The LaPresse news agency quoting firefighters at the scene had reported the death of seven, however, later it revised the figure to eight, including a boy. Rai state TV said the passengers were believed to be French.

Also read: From climate change to harassment, 6 powerful quotes by activist Greta Thunberg

However, there is no official confirmation of their nationalities or the number of people aboard the plane. 

Firefighters tweeted that no one other than those aboard were involved in the early afternoon crash near a subway station in San Donato Milanese, a small town near Milan. They said several cars in a nearby parking lot were set ablaze, but apparently the vehicles were unoccupied at the time.

“The impact was quite devastating, stability must be verified,” Carlo Cardinali, an official of the Milan Fire Brigade, in San Donato, where an ultralight aircraft crashed killing eight people who were on board told La Presse.

Also read: Two die in mid-air clash between helicopter and plane in Arizona

“For the moment we have identified only one body, the others unfortunately following the impact we have reason to believe that they are not composed. Passengers in part have been thrown outside, a very dramatic situation,” he added. 

A thick column of dark smoke rose from the crash site and was visible for kilometers.

Firefighters were extinguishing the flames of the now-charred building, which reportedly was under renovation.

Also read: Texas plane crash: What we know so far about the Lake Worth incident

The ultralight plane, taken off from Milan Linate was bound for Sardinia before it crashed into a building of the Auto Stazione yard .

 “ It seemed the engine had turned off and then a bang and a cloud of smoke, ” a local resident, who saw the scene from the window, said, as per La Presse.

“I was at the stop, I saw that it crashed, it was flying very low”, he added. 

With inputs from the Associated Press