Missouri’s governor was missing and feared dead after his plane crashed last night.
Democratic Gov. Mel Carnahan, who was locked in a tough race to unseat Sen. John Ashcroft (R-Mo.), had been headed for a fund-raiser in New Madrid, Mo.
A twin-engine plane belonging to Carnahan’s law firm was reported down in rugged terrain about 30 miles from St. Louis.
Aboard the plane were Carhanan, adviser Chris Sifford and pilot Roger Carnahan, the governor’s son.
A relative of Sifford said all of them had died, but officials did not confirm this.
Before the crash, Roger Carnahan reported visibility problems and sought air controllers’ OK to climb to 7,000 feet, KTVI said.
The plane vanished from radar at 7:33 p.m.
Tom Hunter, a witness, was outside his garage watching the rain when the plane crashed.
“I heard a light aircraft flying over, and I thought, ‘What a crazy person in this kind of weather,'” Hunter told KMOV-TV. “It sounded like he was in a very steep dive. The engine was screaming.”
Then he saw a big red fireball. “I told my wife, ‘Call 911,'” Hunter said. “The way that plane went in, there’s not going to be any survivors.”
Bits of wreckage were spread over a wide area, said a local sheriff’s officer.
Carnahan, 66, was first elected governor in 1992, and was re-elected in 1996.
Vice President Gore, in St. Louis for tonight’s debate, called Carnahan’s wife when he heard about the crash.
Democrats hope a Carnahan win would help them gain a Senate majority.
Ashcroft last night suspended his campaign. “We hope and pray this tragedy has not occurred,” his campaign said.