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

Royal Canadian Air Force spokesperson 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, and that witnesses described what sounded like an explosion.

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.