Police personnel survey the wreckage of a crashed United States-registered twin-engine aircraft on a private road owned by Windalco Bauxite Company in Schwallenburgh district, near the St Ann-St Catherine border yesterday. - Contributed

A United States-registered twin-engine aircraft believed to be on a drug mission to Jamaica crashed yesterday morning on a private road owned by Windalco Bauxite Company in Schwallenburgh district, near the St Ann-St Catherine border, killing its two occupants.

The crash occurred around 15 miles south of the resort town of Ocho Rios in St Ann, at nine o'clock, deep in the hilly region of the bauxite mining operations where the company-owned road stretches for more than 20 miles.

The police said they had intelligence the plane was to pick up a shipment of compressed ganja when the crash occurred.

Four men were later taken into custody by the St Catherine police, after nearly 2,000lb of ganja was discovered in a vehicle in which the men had been travelling.

The police claimed the weed was the alleged shipment.

"Investigators from the Transnational Crimes and Narcotics Division are piecing together the circumstances that led up to the event of a plane crash at Schwallenburgh," Detective Sergeant Jubert Llewellyn, spokesman for Operation Kingfish, told reporters at the scene.

Llewellyn said when investigators arrived, they found the burnt-out remains of the aircraft with charred remains inside.

Trapped

"They were apparently trapped in the aircraft that was registered in Florida in the United States," he said.

"We had intelligence the plane would have come to this area for compressed ganja. We have recovered a significant portion (of the ganja) by a team of police augmented by the Jamaica Defence Force. The Area Two police also participated. Four men were taken into custody."

He said the men were nabbed after the vehicles in which they were travelling was found with the drug and that it was to be transported to the Transnational Headquarters.

Llewellyn said intensive police investigations would include partners in the United States.

Up to 3 p.m., the forensic team was still combing the scene.

A Euclid truck, owned by Windalco and used to transport bauxite ore, was parked around 120 metres from the crash site. It was within the area cordoned by the joint police-military team.

The crash drew scores of residents from the nearby district of Clapham, and other areas, who waited in vain for several hours to get a close glimpse of the plane.

The plane crashed on the roadway used by the bauxite company in its day-to-day operations.

Dwayne, a resident of Clapham, who lives approximately 500 metres away, told The Gleaner he was at home when he heard the aircraft circle the area about four times, after which he heard a loud noise "like it drop".

This was followed by an explosion. Shortly afterwards, he saw thick, black smoke rising from the vicinity.

He and several others rushed to the scene, getting there before anyone else, he said.

"A four ah we go down there. When we reach, we see the plane a burn but we couldn't go near because ah di smoke. Wi could a see two people inna di front," Dwayne related.

No security personnel

He said at the time, no security personnel were yet on the scene. However, shortly afterwards, several soldiers arrived and ordered them to lie on the ground.

Later, police personnel arrived at the scene.

The alleged eyewitness said before the police arrived at the scene, he saw two company trucks making their way towards the scene. He stopped the drivers and told them what had happened. The soldiers arrived shortly thereafter.

The driver of the truck was questioned by the police and later released.