At least 12 people were killed when a plane crashed off the Caribbean coast of Honduras on Monday evening, officials reported.
The aircraft, operated by Honduran airline Lanhsa, crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Roatán Island, just one minute into the flight.
Honduran national police and fire department officials said that five people had been rescued, while one person remains missing.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, but Roatán’s mayor stated that weather conditions were not to blame, as they were normal at the time. The Honduran Civil Aeronautics Agency confirmed that an investigation is ongoing.
The Jetstream 32 aircraft had taken off from Roatán’s Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport at 18:18 local time (00:18 GMT on Tuesday) and was headed to Golosón International Airport in La Ceiba on the mainland.
Carlos Padilla, a civil aviation official, told AFP news agency that the plane made a sharp right turn off the runway before crashing into the water.
In a statement on social media, the government expressed its “solidarity” with the victims’ families, adding, “The Government of Honduras deeply regrets the tragic accident in Roatán and joins in the national mourning.”
In response to the crash, Honduran President Xiomara Castro “immediately activated” the country’s emergency committee, which includes military, police, fire services, the Red Cross, and the Ministry of Health. She shared on X that the committee was “working tirelessly” to provide aid and added, “May God protect people’s lives.”
Videos posted by officials on social media showed rescue teams working in the dark along the rocky coastline, using small boats and stretchers.
The Honduran armed forces later posted on X, sharing photos of survivors being transported by air force planes to a hospital in San Pedro Sula.
Local media reports identified one of the victims as renowned Honduran musician Aurelio Martinez Suazo. Suazo, a member of the Garifuna community, was known for his contributions to the distinct musical style of the Afro-Indigenous group, which originates from the island of St. Vincent.
