Five employees of an environmental consulting firm died when a small airplane they were traveling in crashed outside an industrial area of Little Rock, Ark. on Wednesday shortly after the plane took off, authorities said.

The twin-engine plane crashed several miles south of the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport, Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Cody Burk said.

CTEH, an environmental consulting firm based in North Little Rock, confirmed the five people on board the plane — including the pilot — were its employees.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Thursday acknowledged the crash while visiting the site of the Ohio train derailment.

CTEH “is a firm involved in this cleanup. I met with some of their personnel earlier today who are mourning the loss of their friends and colleagues – some of whom were involved in this response as they were on their way to another one,” Buttigeig said. “My heart goes out to people who are already in a stressful situation here and are now having this added pain,” Buttigieg added.

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