A small plane has crashed into the Caribbean Sea shortly after takeoff from the Honduran island of Roatan. The incident has claimed 12 lives, with a famous Honduran singer among them.
Videos by Wide Open Country
According to a report by CBS, the Lanhsa Airlines flight departed from Roatan at nightfall en route to the port of La Ceiba on the mainland. However, a civil aviation official, Carlos Padilla, explains that the plane "made a sharp turn to the right of the runway and fell into the water." Details about what happened before the crash are unclear, although the outlet explains that police blame the incident on an "apparent mechanical failure." The BBC explains that the Honduran Civil Aeronautics Agency is investigating, although they stress that it wasn't the weather, which was normal at the time.
Eighteen people were on board the Jetstream 41 aircraft: 15 passengers, two pilots, and a flight attendant. Emergency services were able to rescue five people from the crash site, although one is still unaccounted for. The Honduran National Police Department released footage of the rescue effort on
Facebook. Over a dozen rescuers are seen pulling people out of the water at night on stretchers. The lighting is poor, and workers struggle to find footing on the rocks.Divers, in particular, were having a tough time with 'zero visibility' underwater. Roatan Fire Captain Franklin Borjas said, "It's been difficult to access the accident because there are 30 meters of rocks, and you can't get there while walking or swimming."
Honduran Singer Aurelio Martinez Was Among The Victims
Among those who died in the crash was Aurelio Martinez, a Honduran musician and a renowned figure in the Garifuna music scene, per the Daily Mail. His group, Lita Ariran, was reportedly one of the first Garifuna groups to feature on an internationally distributed album.
Martinez later went into politics and was a representative for the Honduran National Congress.
The Honduran President, Xiomara Castro, has released a statement on X saying she has activated the Emergency Operations Committee. The committee comprises the armed forces, the Red Cross, the Police, and the Fire Department. 'May God protect the lives of those injured,' she added.
