Passengers saved, pets lost on Navy plane from Guantanamo Bay

Pets presumed dead from Boeing 737 plane that crash landed in Jacksonville, Florida

USA Today
Joey Garrison
May 4, 2019

"Unfortunately, they have not been retrieved yet due to safety issues with the aircraft, the Naval Air Station Jacksonville, where the crash landing occurred, tweeted early Saturday morning. "Our hearts and prayers go out to those pet owners during this terrible incident."

A charter plane carrying 143 people and traveling from Cuba to north Florida sits in a river at the end of a runway, on May 4 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo: AP)

All 143 people aboard a military-chartered plane survived after the aircraft skidded off a runway into a river in Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday night, but their pets weren't as fortunate.

At least four pets were checked in the luggage department located in the bottom of the plane that left Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to northern Florida.

Each is still on the aircraft and presumed dead, Kaylee LaRocque, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy in Jacksonville, confirmed to USA TODAY on Saturday.

Although the Boeing 737 plane is not completely submerged in the St. Johns River, the bottom portion, where the pets were positioned, is under water.

“There’s water in the cargo hold," LaRocque said. “We are so sad about this situation, that there are animals that unfortunately passed away."
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Colonial State Road 50 open after standoff ends

S.R. 50 standoff over, man in custody

By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
4:37 p.m. EDT, October 5, 2011

A man armed with a gun sparked a standoff with Orange County deputies near the Brevard County line on Wednesday afternoon, blocking State Road 50 for several hours.

The situation shut down the roadway at the St. Johns River, where the man was threatening to harm himself inside a pickup truck, officials said.

He surrendered without violence just after 2 p.m., about three hours after the standoff was initially reported.
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Floodwaters wash fire ants into home, man dies of bites

Man fatally bitten by fire ants that washed into his home
Willoughby Mariano Gary Taylor and Vincent Bradshaw, Sentinel Staff Writers
August 28, 2008

Tropical Storm Fay continued its deadly streak when a Chuluota-area man was bitten to death by fire ants that washed into his flooded home, authorities announced Wednesday.

It also caused more destruction and anxiety. The St. Johns River spilled over the sea wall into downtown Sanford. In DeBary, where more than 130 homes were flooded, residents worried after a sinkhole swallowed trees and damaged a road.

State Road 46 -- a major road in Volusia, Seminole and Brevard counties -- remained blocked because of rising waters from nearby Lake Harney that sent snakes, alligators, and rabbits swimming for higher ground.

And still, the floodwaters continued to rise.


The St. Johns River remained 7 inches to 2 1/2 feet above flood stage in Astor, DeLand, Sanford and Lake Harney. Waters in all but the Astor location were expected to rise through the weekend.

The storm's latest victim was described as a man "60-plus years old" who went into anaphylactic shock after receiving multiple fire-ant bites Tuesday morning. Because of flooding, rescue crews were delayed in reaching him. He was taken to a hospital, where he died that night, said Seminole County Emergency Manager Alan Harris.
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