SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The US Coast Guard says it is helping to search for a small plane that may have crashed off eastern Puerto Rico.

The Coast Guard says there were 5 people on board the plane when it took off from the Puerto Rican island of Culebra en route to the southern city of Ponce. The Coast Guard said in a statement that it was notified by a relative of someone on board that the plane never reached its destination Sunday.

Radar indicates the plane may have gone down about one mile from the southeastern town of Yabucoa. The Coast Guard and Puerto Rico Emergency Management dispatched search and rescue teams to the area.