NEW YORK, Nov 12: Parts of the American Airlines jet that nosedived minutes after takeoff into a New York neighborhood have been found in four places in a “devastating” scene of fire and wreckage, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said.

“I don’t think there are any survivors at this point,” Giuliani told reporters after taking a helicopter tour above the scene of the crash about five miles (eight km) from John F. Kennedy international airport, said.

En route to Santo Domingo, the Airbus A300 crashed into about 10 houses, two of which were destroyed, said Giuliani.

“We are doing everything we can to recover as many bodies as possible,” said Giuliani. “We hope and pray that there are survivors but right now it looks very, very devastating.”

The main part of the plane crashed into houses, part of an engine fell onto a gas station, and part of the wing plunged into a nearby bay, he said.

A large fire broke out where the main cabin of the plane fell. A smaller fire broke out a few blocks away where other pieces of the plane hit ground, he added.

The flight, with 246 passengers and nine crew members aboard, had been scheduled to take off at 8:48 a.m. (1348 GMT) and crashed at 9:17 a.m. (1417 GMT), police said.

The mayor and Barry Mawn, head of the FBI in New York, said it was too early to determine the cause of the crash and that the National Transportation Safety Board was investigating.

“We don’t have evidence of what it is or what it is not,” Giuliani said.—Reuters

FEAR, ANGUISH: As many as 500 relatives of passengers on the plane that crashed in New York City early Monday rushed a part of the airport here seeking information on their loved ones, witnesses on the scene told AFP.