A small Mexican Navy plane transporting a young medical patient and seven others crashed on Monday near Galveston, killing at least five people and setting off a search in waters along the Texas coast, officials said.
Four of the people on board were Navy officers and four were civilians, including a child, Mexico’s Navy said in a statement. Two of the passengers were from a non-profit that provides aid to Mexican children with severe burns, including transports to a Galveston hospital.
US coastguard petty officer Luke Baker said at least five aboard had died but did not identify which passengers.
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The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Mexico’s marines said in a statement that it is sending “its deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident”.
The crash happened on Monday afternoon in Galveston Bay near the base of the causeway that connects Galveston Island to the mainland.