Mexican plane carrying two-year-old burn victim crashes off US coast, killing five

Summary

• A Mexican Navy plane crashed off the Texas coast, killing at least five, including a two-year-old burn victim being transported for treatment.
• The aircraft was carrying eight people, including medics, nurses, Navy personnel, and relatives; two survived, and one is still missing, according to the Mexican Navy.
• The crash is under investigation to determine why the aircraft lost communication; the US Ambassador offered condolences, and the Mexican President is working with the US.

MEXICO CITY - At least five people, including a two-year-old burn victim, died when a small Mexican Navy aircraft crashed on Dec 22 off the Texas coast near Galveston during a humanitarian mission to transfer the child for treatment in the United States.

The Navy said that of the eight people on board the aircraft, two survived the crash and one was missing.

The flight was carrying the child from the southern Mexican city of Merida.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said the child was among those killed, and that rescue workers were still searching for the missing person.

“My condolences to the relatives... and those who were travelling in the aircraft,” she said, during her regular morning press conference. “There were medics, nurses, Navy personnel and relatives of the child.”

The sheriff’s office in Galveston did not immediately respond to a request for more information.

Local Mexican broadcaster N+ said the two-year-old child had suffered third-degree burns from a boiling water spill and that various hospitals around the family’s home city of Escarcega had said they were not able to treat such a serious burn.

N+ reported that at a hospital in Merida, some 320km away, the child’s family was put in touch with the Michou y Mau Foundation, which assists Mexican children with severe burns.

In some cases, the charity takes severely burned children for treatment at a hospital in Galveston.

Ms Sheinbaum said the crash would be investigated, adding her government was working closely with the US to discover what happened during the 10 minutes in which the aircraft lost communication with ground personnel in Galveston.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected,” added US Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson. REUTERS