A small Bahamas-bound private aircraft crashed Sunday night while approaching to land near Grand Bahamas International Airport, killing nine passengers on board and a prominent evangelical pastor and his wife, according to local reports.
Pastor Myles Munroe, a 60-year-old Bahamas native, and his family were on their way to Monday's Global Leadership Forum hosted by the Bahamas Faith Ministries, an organization Munroe founded, when the private Learjet "exploded on impact" while attempting to land at about 5 p.m. local time Sunday after departing Lynden Pindling International in the Bahamas capital of Nassau, according to a Tribune 242 report.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but heavy rains in the region might have played a crucial role in the tragedy. Officials declined to identify the names of the other nine victims, a spokesperson at the Bahamas Air accident investigation and prevention unit told ABC News.
"The Department of Civil Aviation has been advised unofficially that the aircraft was destroyed and that there were no survivors," the Ministry of Transport and Aviation said in a statement to The Associated Press, adding that pictures showed piles of debris scaling up only three miles away from the Freeport airport.
The internationally known motivational speaker and his wife Ruth's deaths were confirmed to ABC News by Kelley Jackson, a spokeswoman from the Andrew J. Young Foundation.
"Ambassador Young expresses his deep sadness over the tragic death of his friends Dr. Myles and Mrs. Ruth Munroe," the organization posted on its Facebook page tonight. "He offers condolences to the Munroe family and the families of the other souls who lost their lives as a result of this shocking plane crash."
Dr. Richard H. Pinder, a Senior Vice President and Pastor of Bahamas Faith Ministries Fellowship Church, also died in the crash, Bahamas Faith Ministries confirmed to ABC News.
Additionally, former Atlanta Mayor (and former UN ambassador) Andrew Young was scheduled to be on the jet, but didn't travel due to concerns about bad weather, according to WSBTV.
Meanwhile, the Global Leadership Forum will continue as scheduled, according to a statement released by Munroe's Facebook page. "This is what Dr. Munroe would have wanted. Please keep this family and the ministry in prayers," a spokesperson wrote.
According to a biography on the Ministries website, Munroe has published more than 100 spiritual and inspirational works while also working as a government and business consultant to Fortune 500 businesses.
