A small Mexican Navy plane carrying a young patient and seven others crashed Monday near Galveston, killing at least five people and starting a search in waters along the Texas coast, officials said.
The Mexican Navy said in a statement to The Associated Press that four of the people on board were naval officers and four were civilians, including a child. Two of the passengers were from a nonprofit organization that provides assistance to Mexican children with severe burns, including transportation to a Galveston hospital.
US Coast Guard Officer Luke Baker said that at least five of those on board were killed, but he did not identify the passengers.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
The Mexican Marine Corps said in a statement that it sends its “deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic incident.”
The accident occurred Monday afternoon in Galveston Bay near the base of the bridge that connects Galveston Island to the mainland. Emergency responders and search teams rushed to the scene near the popular beach destination along the Texas coast about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) southeast of Houston.
Skye Decker, a professional yacht captain who lives about a mile from the crash site, said he jumped into his boat to see if he could help. He said he picked up two police officers who directed him through the thick fog to an almost completely submerged plane. Decker jumped into the water and found a badly injured woman trapped under chairs and other debris.
“I couldn’t believe it. She probably had a 3-inch air gap to breathe,” he said. “And there was jet fuel mixed with the water, and really bad fumes. She was really fighting for her life.”
He said he also brought out a man who was sitting in front of her and who was already dead. He described them as wearing civilian clothes.
The Mexican Navy said the plane was assisting with a medical mission coordinated by the Micho and Mau Foundation, which provides emergency transportation for children with life-threatening burns to Shriners Hospital for Children in Galveston, according to the nonprofit’s website.
The Foundation said in a post on social media: “We express our deep solidarity with the families in light of these events. We share their grief with respect and compassion, honor their memory and affirm our commitment to providing humane, sensitive and dignified care to children with burns.”
The Mexican Navy statement said that the plane was involved in an accident while approaching Galveston, but did not provide details.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said on the social media platform X that teams from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the scene.
An NTSB spokesperson said they are “aware of this incident and are gathering information about it.” The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said officials from the dive team, crime scene unit, drone unit and patrol are responding to the incident.
It’s not immediately clear if weather was a factor. The area has experienced foggy conditions over the past few days, according to Cameron Batiste, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. At about 2:30 Monday afternoon, fog rolled in and visibility was about a half-mile, he said.