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The twin-engine Cessna 421C crashed near the airport around five minutes later with two people on board, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. One person in the townhomes was also killed.

Hicks said investigators were working Tuesday to collect time-sensitive evidence from the wreckage site.

The plane crashed in Fairview, a city about 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of downtown Portland that's home to some 10,000 people.

It crashed into a row of eight townhouses, destroying three of them, Gresham Fire Chief Scott Lewis said. He estimated a fourth may be beyond repair and that the others had smoke damage. The second unit in the row was the main point of impact, he said.

“Our hearts, our thoughts and our prayers go out to those who are injured, displaced or just affected by this tragic event,” Fairview Mayor Keith Kudrna said.

The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said the medical examiner was still working to officially identify the victims and that their names won't be released until families have been notified.

Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O'Donnell said her deputies found several townhomes on fire when they arrived at the crash. They went door to door to evacuate people and used garden hoses to douse the flames until firefighters arrived, she said.

The plane knocked over a pole and power lines as it went down, causing a separate brush fire in a nearby field, according to the sheriff’s office. The plane was split into multiple parts as it crashed in the residential area.

The website for the Port of Portland, which oversees general aviation and marine operations in the Portland area, describes Troutdale Airport as a “flight training and recreational airport.”

The ��ɫtv Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash, and said it will take up to a year and a half to complete.