A small plane on December 28 crashed near Lafayett Airport, Louisiana, while on a journey to Atlanta, causing 5 deaths and 6 injuries.

Six people were on a Piper two-wing fixed-wing plane when it fell around 9am into a parking lot at the post office in Lafayette, local police and fire authorities said.

The plane crashed into a car, causing serious injuries to the occupants of the car, two nearby people were slightly injured and were being treated in a hospital. A person on board survived but was transferred to hospital with life-threatening injuries. Two people at the post office were suffocated by smoke coming out of a plane fire and an underground car, according to Lafayette fire department leader Robert Benoit.

The private plane is on a journey to take passengers to Peach Bowl, Atlanta, to attend a match at the national university rugby championship. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff.

One in five people killed was Carley McCord, 30, a sports reporter for WDSU News, a branch of CNBC in New Orleans. Witnesses said the plane also touched power lines when trying to make an emergency landing.

The window at the post office shattered due to the pressure of the plane crash. A nearby supermarket had to be evacuated and closed, while 200 households and businesses near the accident scene lost power. Authorities are investigating the cause of the incident.