A contracted cargo plane from Amazon crashes into a bay near Houston, Texas: Officials

Three people are missing and are feared that they died as a result of the crash of a twin-engine cargo plane in a bay near Houston, Texas on Saturday afternoon, have announced officials.

The Boeing 767 airliner, which flew from Miami to Houston, crashed in Trinity Bay, near Anahuac, shortly before 1 pm, officials said.

The plane was operating "on behalf of Amazon" and three people were on board, according to a statement released by Atlas Air Worldwide. Amazon officials confirmed the Atlas statement, but asked Atlas questions about missing passengers.

The chances of surviving the accident seem slim, local officials said.

"I do not think anyone was able to survive," said Brian Hawthorne, Sheriff of Chambers County, at a press conference in the evening.

Hawthorne said several teams of divers had discovered human remains, but had not yet located black boxes containing the aircraft flight recorder.

The sheriff said he expected the investigation to last for weeks.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the flight crew, their family and friends, as well as the entire Atlas Air team during this terrible tragedy," said Dave Clark, vice-president of the team. Chief Executive Officer of Amazon Global Operations, in a statement. "We thank the first responders who worked urgently to provide support.

Flight 3591, operated by Atlas Air Inc., came off the radar and lost radio contact about 30 miles from the George Bush International Airport in Houston, according to an alert from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators are also involved in the nascent spacecraft. The NTSB will be responsible for the investigation.

US Coast Guard officials said in a statement that the rescuers were looking for three crew members. Officials said the Houston Police Department, Texas Park and Wildlife, and the Harris County Sheriff's Department, among other agencies, were involved in the search.

ABC Cruz & Wil Cruz & Amanda Maile contributed to this report.