HOUSTON, United States 

A small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood in the US state of California early Thursday, killing at least two people, according to police.

Eight others were injured when the Cessna 550 private jet crashed into a military housing area, the San Diego Police Department said on X, adding approximately 100 residents were evacuated following the incident.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is now on scene and has taken over the investigation, it said.

The cause of the crash is unknown.

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said the private jet crashed into a military housing unit, striking around 15 homes and setting ablaze multiple homes and cars.

"I just walked it myself, and down the street itself, it looks like something from a movie," said San Diego Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy.

Forrest Gallagher, who lives in the area, told NBC News that he heard a "loud boom" that woke him up out of a deep sleep.

"I went outside to my neighbors, out in the street, and smelt a weird burning smell, like rubber, a plastic smell," said Gallagher. "I went outside to investigate, and that’s when I saw the car on fire."

Eddy told reporters that more than one person was killed, although he did not have a full count. He said the plane could have sat eight to 10 people, including the pilot, but officials did not know how many people were on board when it crashed.

Eddy, however, confirmed that all of the fatalities were on the plane and no one from the neighborhood was killed.

"We do believe we have multiple fatalities, but we’re going to have to go through and take our time and ensure that's exactly what we have," he said.

Fire officials said multiple neighborhoods in the area were evacuated due to fuel spills caused by the crash.

"We have jet fuel all over the place," Eddy told reporters. "We have hazmat on scene right now, and we’ve asked for more resources to come for that."

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl described the crash site to reporters, saying there was "jet fuel going down the street and everything on fire all at once."

"It was pretty horrific to see," said Wahl.

*Diyar Guldogan from Washington, DC contributed to this report