A small plane with two people on board crashed into a transmission tower, causing widespread power outages in Gaithersburg, Maryland on Sunday night.
The authorities managed to contact the pilot and passenger of the plane, confirming that both of them are alive following the incident, which occurred around 6:15pm local time.
Police closed off the area and urged residents to stay away, warning that some of the wires were still live. About an hour later, first responders were still working to rescue the two people, who were stuck in the power lines, dangling around 30 meters (100 feet) in the air.
“We have a man in contact with them, they seem to be OK at this time. However they are in a very precarious situation due to the fact that they are dangling about 100 feet up and everything is still energized,” a spokesperson for Montgomery County’s Fire & Rescue Service, Pete Piringer, said in a video he recorded at the scene.
The incident left tens of thousands of homes without electricity throughout the northern parts of Montgomery County, Potomac Electric Power Company said.
“We have confirmed that a private plane came into contact with Pepco’s transmission lines in Montgomery County, resulting in an outage to approximately 85,000 customers,” the company tweeted.
“We are awaiting clearance to the scene before crews can begin work to stabilize the electric infrastructure and begin restoring service,” it added.