(Galveston) A small Mexican navy plane carrying a young patient and seven others crashed Monday near Galveston, killing at least five people and sparking a search off the Texas coast, authorities said.
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Among those on board, four were naval officers and four were civilians, including a child, the Mexican navy said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.
It was not immediately clear which of them had been confirmed dead by the U.S. Coast Guard. Two of the passengers were members of the Michou and Mau Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps seriously burned Mexican children.
The accident happened Monday afternoon near an elevated roadway, usually built over water, near Galveston on the Texas coast, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Houston. An investigation is underway to determine the causes of the accident.
PHOTO JENNIFER REYNOLDS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Emergency services urgently transport one of the victims to an ambulance.
The Mexican Navy said in a statement that the plane was participating in a medical mission and suffered an “accident.” She promised to investigate the causes of the accident and is supporting local authorities with search and rescue operations.
Teams from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) arrived at the scene of the accident, the Texas Department of Public Safety announced on X.
An NTSB spokesperson said they were “aware of this accident and are gathering information about it.”
The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said officers from its dive team, forensics unit, drone unit and patrols were on scene.
Galveston is an island popular for its beaches.
It is not yet known whether weather conditions played a role in the accident. The region has experienced foggy conditions in recent days, according to Cameron Batiste, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He said that on Monday around 2:30 p.m., heavy fog reduced visibility to around 800 meters.
