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Rescuers were still working early Saturday to get passengers and crew members off the plane. No one on the plane suffered life-threatening injuries, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said.
Officials at Naval Air Station Jacksonville said the jet was carrying 136 passengers and seven crew members.
The sheriff’s office said “the plane was not submerged,” although photos from the scene showed it in the St. Johns River in an image reminiscent of the emergency landing in the Hudson River off Manhattan in January 2009.
“Navy security and emergency response personnel are on the scene and monitoring the situation,” the Navy said in a statement.
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The accident occurred about 9:40 p.m. Early images from social media showed rescuers scurrying over the plane. “While they work please pray,” Mayor Lenny Curry of Jacksonville said in a Twitter message posted at 10:30 p.m.
About 15 minutes later, he followed up: “This is a developing situation. I’ve been briefed that all lives have been accounted for.” Emergency response teams, he added, were working to control jet fuel leaking into the river.
The mayor said the White House had called to offer its assistance. “We are all 1 family. 1 people. 1 City,” Curry said in a Twitter message.
The flight was operated by Miami Air International. Officials for the company did not return phone calls about the accident. The Miami Air website said the airline has a fleet of Boeing 737s that caters to the military, religious groups, sports teams and corporate groups.
The Navy said an investigation was underway, and it told family members awaiting the flight’s arrival in Jacksonville to “stand by.”
Boeing also said it was investigating the crash.