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Air traffic controllers lost contact for about 10 minutes before a small Mexican Navy plane carrying a young medical patient and seven other people crashed. texas coast, at least five people died, MexicoThe President said on Tuesday.
Officials initially believed the plane had landed safely at its destination. galvestonnear houstonBefore learning that it had fallen on Monday afternoon, the Mexican President claudia sheinbaum Said. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Mexico’s navy said two survivors were pulled from the wreckage of the plane in a search and rescue operation in waters off Galveston, while one remains missing.
Mexico’s navy said that of the eight people on board the plane, four were naval officers and four were civilians, including a child. Two of the passengers were affiliated with a nonprofit that helps transport severely burned Mexican children to a hospital in Galveston.
“My condolences to the families of the sailors who unfortunately died in this accident and to those traveling on the ship,” Sheinbaum said at his morning press conference, without elaborating on a possible cause. “What happened is very sad.”
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Luke Baker said at least five people on board had died, but he did not say which passengers were killed.
The plane crashed into a bay near the base of the causeway connecting Galveston Island to the mainland on Monday afternoon. Emergency responders arrived at the scene near the popular beach destination about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Houston.
Sky Decker, a professional boat captain who lives about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from the crash site, said he jumped into his boat to see if he could help. He picked up two police officers who escorted him through thick fog to the nearly sunken plane. Decker jumped into the water and found a badly injured woman trapped under chairs and other debris.
“I couldn’t believe it. He had maybe 3 inches of air space to breathe,” he said. “And there was jet fuel mixed in the water, the smoke was pretty bad. She was literally fighting for her life.”
He said they also pulled out a person sitting in front of him who had already died. Both were wearing civilian clothes.
It was not immediately clear whether weather was a factor. According to National Weather Service meteorologist Cameron Batiste, the area has been covered in fog for the past few days. He said that fog spread around 2.30 pm on Monday afternoon, visibility of which was about half a mile.
Mexico’s navy said the plane was helping in a medical mission in coordination with Michou and the Maui Foundation. In a social media post, the foundation said: “We express our deep solidarity with the families in light of these events. We share their grief with respect and compassion, honor their memory and reaffirm our commitment to providing humane, sensitive and dignified care to burned children.”
The Texas Department of Public Safety said teams from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were at the crash site on Monday, and an NTSB spokesperson said the agency was gathering information about the crash. The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said its dive team, crime scene unit, drone unit and patrol officers responded to the crash.