Five dead after plane crashes into California home

At least five people have been killed after a plane crashed into a house in California.

The small aircraft, which was carrying a family of five - two adults and three teenagers - came down in the city of Riverside shortly after taking off from a nearby airport on Monday afternoon.

Four of those on board the plane and one person on the ground were killed.

One of the teenagers on the plane survived the crash and suffered only minor injuries, having been thrown from the wreckage when the aircraft split apart on impact.

A second person on the ground suffered serious injuries.

Firefighters arrived at the scene to find the home engulfed in flames, while two neighbouring homes sustained damage in the crash and ensuing fire.

Video footage appeared to show the plane's propeller sitting on the roof of a nearby home.

Firefighters remain at the scene, searching the wreckage for any other possible victims.

The family were flying home to San Jose, around 400 miles north of Riverside, after attending a cheerleading competition in Disneyland close to Los Angeles.

Ernesto Torres, a neighbour who ran to the scene of the crash after hearing the explosion, explained what he saw: "We ran up to the house, it was on fire. There was a lady, she was on fire. We helped pull her out of the flames."

Another witness, who lives nearby, said she felt the ground shake when the plane crashed and at first thought it was an earthquake.

"It was just like a nightmare coming true," she said.

Local residents were evacuated while emergency services tackled the blaze.

It is not known what caused the crash, but a team from the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.