AALIYAH has been killed in a plane crash in the BAHAMAS.
The R&B star, who recently appeared on the cover of NME, had been on the island filming a video. She was on board a Cessna aeroplane carrying nine people which had just taken off from the island of Abaco en route to Miami yesterday (August 25). Eight people, two women and six men, died in the crash, all of them Americans. The one survivor was taken to hospital in Nassau.
Legendary producer Quincy Jones paid tribute to the 22-year-old star, saying: “She was like one of my daughters, she was one of the sweetest girls in the world. I loved her and respected her and I am absolutely devastated. “
Aaliyah was set to appear in the follow-up to The Matrix alongside Keanu Reeves and the film adaptation of Anne Rices vampire film Queen Of The Damned.
Reports on the precise causes are mixed at the moment, Superintendent Basil Rahming of Grand Bahama police department told Reuters news agency that the twin-engined propeller plane apparently suffered engine failure on take-off.
According to cnn.com, baggage handlers reported that the plane was overloaded with suitcases before it crashed and was engulfed in flames, shortly after take-off.
Gloria Knowles, an employee of Abaco Air Ltd told cnn.com that handlers and the plane’s pilot had complained about the heavy load, but the passengers insisted on taking everything with them.
The Brooklyn-born singer’s single Try Again was nominated for R&B song of the year at the Soul Train awards, which will be held on Tuesday.