The man set to transform the former Club Med site into a Park Hyatt resort was last night said to be safe and well after a plane he was travelling on crashed into New York's Hudson River.

Carl Bazarian was one of more than 150 passengers and crew who had to scramble onto rescue boats after both engines on the US Airways jetliner were disabled after a collision with a flock of birds.

Bermuda Tourism Board chairman E. Michael Jones told The Royal Gazette last night he was contacted by Bazarian International and told Mr. Bazarian, who is behind a $294m project to turn Club Med into a luxury hilltop resort for St. George's, was okay.

"I have heard that Mr. Bazarian was involved in the crash and he is safe and all the passengers are doing fine," said Mr. Jones. "I'm just glad to know that he's doing well."

And speaking at a public road safety meeting at Berkeley Institute last night, Premier Ewart Brown said Mr. Bazarian's family had been in touch, adding: "Everyone is safe. I'm happy that that is the result."

No deaths or serious injuries were immediately reported after the crash at about 3.30 p.m. yesterday.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said Flight 1549 had just taken off from LaGuardia Airport en route to Charlotte, North Carolina, when it went into the river near 48th Street in midtown Manhattan.

She said the plane, an Airbus 320, took off at 3.26 p.m. and went down minutes later.

"There were eyewitness reports the plane may have flown into a flock of birds," Ms Brown said. She added: "Right now we don't have any indication this was anything other than an accident."

The plane was submerged in icy water up to the windows and rescue crews opened the door and pulled passengers in yellow life vests from the plane.

Rescue boats and ferry boats that ply the Hudson surrounded the plane, which appeared to be slowly sinking in the near-freezing water on one of the coldest days of the year, with a temperature around 20 degrees.

Witnesses said the plane's pilot appeared to guide the plane down. "I see a commercial airliner coming down, looking like it's landing right in the water," said Bob Read, who saw it from his office. "This looked like a controlled descent."

New York City firefighters and the Coast Guard worked to rescue the passengers. The fuselage appeared intact and the plane appeared to be sitting high in the water well after the crash, with rescuers standing on the wings once they reached the site.

"I saw what appeared to be a tail fin of a plane sticking out of the water," said Erica Schietinger, whose office windows look out over the Hudson. "All the boats have sort of circled the area."

Joe Mazzone, a retired Delta Air Lines pilot, said it was not unusual for birds to strike planes. In fact, he said, when planes get ready to take off, if there are birds in the area, the tower will alert the crew. "They literally just choke out the engine and it quits," Mr. Mazzone said.