A small plane crashed into an Austin, Texas, office building believed to house federal offices Thursday morning, injuring at least two people and leaving a third unaccounted for, officials said in broadcast remarks, dpa reported.
The pilot apparently crashed deliberately into the building after earlier setting his home on fire, an unnamed federal government official told CNN. The plane was stolen from a local airport, the official said.
The federal Homeland Security agency said in a statement that it did not yet know the cause of the crash.
"At this time, we have no reason to believe there is a nexus to terrorist activity," the statement said. "We continue to gather more information, and are aware there is additional information about the pilots history."
The agency referred further questions to local authorities and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Firemen were going methodically through the seven-story building to quash the fire, a fire official said. Televised images showed black smoke pouring out of the accident scene.
Two people were transported to hospital with injuries, the fire official said.
The building was believed to house a number of federal government offices, including the federal tax authority.
An eyewitness told the Austin Statesman newspaper that he watched the plane fly over the highway he was driving on, then bank heavily and head right into the building.
The plane had taken off from the Georgetown airport just north of Austin, but because it was a small plane flying on a clear day, had not filed a flight plan, FAA officials told CNN.
It was not clear how many people were inside the building at the time of the crash, which set off a ball of fire and huge explosion.
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