At least 19 people have died after a seaplane crashed into water near Miami Beach in Florida.

Rescuers said that 19 bodies were recovered from waters around the twin-engine 1940s-era plane, with one passenger or crew member still missing.

Amateur video footage showed the plane apparently on fire before it crashed into Miami's main shipping lane.

The chartered seaplane, run by Chalk's Ocean Airways, flew regularly between Miami and the Bahamas.

Scuba divers, speedboats and helicopters are combing the crash site.

Video broadcast on CNN showed the right wing of the plane breaking off as flames issued from the fuselage.

Parts of the aircraft could be seen in shallower waters nearby following the crash, which happened shortly before 1500 local time (2000 GMT).

'On fire'

Witnesses told local television that the plane seemed to explode in the sky before it fell into Government Cut, the entry to the Port of Miami.

"It exploded in the air and one of the wings flew out of there. The other part of the plane was on fire and it just went straight down," eyewitness Maurice D'Giovianni, a surfer who was in the water at the time, told the Associated Press news agency.

The plane was a twin-engine Grumman G-73T Turbine Mallard seaplane, manufactured in 1947, reports said.

Chalk's has been operating flights between the Bahamas and the US since the 1930s.

Bahamian Prime Minister Perry Christie issued a statement of condolence on behalf of his government, anticipating that Bahamians would be among the dead.

PHOTO CAPTION

Miami Dade rescue teams work at the scene of an aircraft crash in south Miami Beach, Florida. (AFP)