By Benno Schwinghammer

San Diego (USA) - A small plane has crashed in a residential area of the US West Coast city of San Diego.

Several people died in the Cessna, according to a fire department spokesperson.

The residents of several houses that were damaged in the crash and subsequent fire were unharmed according to initial findings. Most of the fires were quickly brought under control, it said.

"I can hardly put this scene into words, but the kerosene was flowing down the street and everything was on fire at once. It was horrible to watch," said police chief Scott Wahl, describing the scene. The emergency services did a heroic job in evacuating the people.

According to ABC, around 15 houses were damaged in the Cessna accident .

The background to the crash initially remained unclear. Accidents involving small aircraft occur time and again in the USA , often due to mistakes made by amateur pilots.