Deceased pets recovered from plane in Florida river

Author: Associated Press
Published:
A charter plane carrying 143 people and traveling from Cuba to north Florida sits in a river at the end of a runway, Saturday, May 4, 2019 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Boeing 737 arriving at Naval Air Station Jacksonville from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven aircrew slid off the runway Friday night into the St. Johns River, a NAS Jacksonville news release said. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
A charter plane carrying 143 people and traveling from Cuba to north Florida sits in a river at the end of a runway, Saturday, May 4, 2019 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Boeing 737 arriving at Naval Air Station Jacksonville from Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, with 136 passengers and seven aircrew slid off the runway Friday night into the St. Johns River, a NAS Jacksonville news release said. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)

Authorities say deceased pets have been recovered from a chartered jet that ran into a river at a Florida military base.

Naval Air Station Jacksonville said in a statement late Sunday that a dog and two cats were recovered in their carriers from the Boeing 737 that skidded into the St. Johns River after landing at Naval Air Station Jacksonville.

None of the 143 human passengers and crew members had serious injuries from the landing Friday night.

Despite trying twice, rescuers were unable to remove the pets from the cargo area immediately after the landing because that section of the plane was underwater. Divers were sent in Sunday to retrieve the animals.

Base officials say another cat that flew in the plane’s cabin was safely removed by the cat’s owner.

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