Television footage showed at least one home on fire on a residential¹ street in the city of Imperial, following the crash on Wednesday evening.

 

The pilot of the AV-8B Harrier jet ejected safely, and has been taken to hospital with minor² injuries.

 

The US Marine³ Corps⁴ said eight homes had been evacuated⁵ but no-one on the ground was hurt.

 

An investigation⁶ has been launched to determine the cause of the crash, it said in a statement.

 

Resident Adriana Ramos, 45, said her house shook when the plane crashed.

 

"It felt like a bomb was thrown in the backyard,'' she said.

 

 

Another witness, Jose Santos, said he was driving nearby when he saw the plane flying "really low". 

 

"It just fell down," he said.

 

Mr Santos said he sped toward the crash site and saw the pilot, who had parachuted to the ground, being helped by police and local residents.

 

It was the second crash in a month of a Harrier jet from the Yuma air base in Arizona, AP news agency reported. 

 

On 9 May, a pilot ejected safely before his plane crashed in a remote desert area near the Gila River Indian Community in Arizona, south of Phoenix⁸. No-one was hurt. 

 

In 2008 a US military jet crashed into a residential area of San Diego killing⁹ four people. The pilot also ejected before the crash.

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