Half Moon Bay (California), Jan 16 (AP) Search crews have found a small plane that crashed into the ocean off the California coast near San Francisco, authorities said on Monday.

The crash was reported around 7 pm Sunday near Half Moon Bay after witnesses reported seeing the plane in obvious distress, KRON-TV reported.

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The aircraft was found upside down in the water near Ross Cove, about 25 miles (40 kilometres) south of San Francisco, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office said. Officials were inspecting the wreckage.

There was no immediate information about the number of people on board, possible survivors or the type of aircraft involved in the crash.

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Melissa Richter was dining on a patio at Moss Beach Distillery when she said she heard an engine losing power, "like you hear in the movies, when a plane is about to crash".

The plane came over the top of the building, she said.

"We figured something was wrong, because it was so close to the restaurant," Richter told KRON. She said the engine cut out, and the plane "banked in, and we lost sight of it at that point".

The plane originated from the East Bay, Sheriff's Sgt Philip Hallworth said, but he declined to name the exact airport it took off from. (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)