Canadian Air Force raft crashes through roof of Florida home

The Canadian Forces is scrambling for answers after a military helicopter dropped an 80-pound inflatable life raft and smashed a hole in the roof of a home in Miami.

Royal Canadian Air Force spokesman David Lavallee says the military is investigating how and why the uninflated raft detached from the Griffon search-and-rescue helicopter, which is in Florida for a search-and-rescue exercise.

Lavallee says one person in the residence sustained minor injuries.

Local media are reporting that a woman was asleep in the home when the raft came smashing through the ceiling. Luce Raneau told the Miami Herald that she thought a bomb had gone off when the raft hit and left her covered in wood and dust from the roof.

Photos from the scene show a gaping hole in the roof of what appears to be a multi-unit residence, while the bedroom where the raft apparently fell was littered with debris.

Lavallee says the helicopter is normally based in Trenton, Ont., and was returning to a local U.S. Coast Guard base when the life raft fell.

with files from Siobhan Morris and the Associated Press