Winter Haven (US), Mar 8 (AP) A pilot and and a 19-year-old student pilot were among four people killed when two small planes collided in midair over a central Florida lake, sheriff's officials said.

A Piper J-3 Cub seaplane and a Cherokee Piper 161 fixed-wing plane collided around 2 p.m. Tuesday over Lake Hartridge near Winter Haven Regional Airport, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

Also Read | Shark Attack in Brazil: Angry Shark Mauls Teenage Girl’s Arm at Piedade Beach, Scary Video of Victim Crying in Pain Surfaces.

“All of a sudden it was a giant boom,” Caridad Fernandez, who lives along the lake, told WESH-TV.

“It literally sounded like when a rocket takes off and hits the atmosphere.”

Also Read | Arctic Blast in UK: Snow, Hailstorm To Hit Britain This Week As Arctic Blizzard Intensifies; Severe National Warnings Issued.

Fernandez said she and many of her neighbors in the community about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Orlando ran outside.

“We pretty much saw everything hit the water,” Fernandez said.

Numerous rescue workers responded to the scene, where one of the planes was submerged under about 21 feet (6.4-meters) of water, while the other was partially submerged. They pulled four bodies from the planes, the sheriff said.

Faith Irene Bake, 24, a pilot/flight instructor with Sunrise Aviation, and Zachary Jean Mace, 19, a student at Polk State College, were aboard the fixed-wing plane, which was operated by Sunrise Aviation in Ormond Beach on behalf of Polk State College, Judd said.

Both were from Winter Haven.

Randall Elbert Crawford, 67, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and another person were aboard the seaplane.

The name of the second person was not released, pending notification of next of kin, Judd said. That plane was operated by Jack Brown's Seaplane Base in Winter Haven.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate what caused the two planes to collide.

"Please keep the families in your prayers during this difficult and stressful time,” Judd said. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)