A popular singer and 11 others are dead after a small plane crashed off an island in the Caribbean. Sadly, the small aircraft crashed into the Caribbean Sea.
Singer Aurelio Martinez and 11 others have died. Minutes after taking off from the Honduran island of Roatan on Monday evening, the plane crashed. It was headed for the mainland. Honduran airline Lanhsa operated the Jetstream aircraft, which had 14 passengers and three crew members on board. Authorities managed to find the wreckage just a half mile off the coast.
12 people died in the resulting plane crash. But Caribbean authorities managed to rescue five people who were on board. CBS reports that the cause of the crash was an "apparent mechanical failure." Civil aviation official Carlos Padilla said the plane "made a sharp turn to the right of the runway and fell into the water."
Singer Dies In Plane Crash
A fisherman described the plane crash from below. He said, "The plane almost fell on us. I was fishing." Popular singer and politician Aurelio Martinez died in the resulting crash. Martinez was a big figure in the Garifuna music scene and had a lot of fans worldwide. He performed with Lita Ariran, which was "'one of the first Garifuna groups to appear on an internationally distributed recording."
Later, he served as a representative to the Honduran National Congress. Recovery efforts have been slow and daunting.
"It's been difficult to access the accident (site) because there are 30 meters (98 ft) of rocks and you can't get there while walking or swimming," Roatan Fire captain Franklin Borjas explained. "The divers helping with the rescue have zero visibility."
Honduran President Xiomara Castro put out a statement shortly after the plane crash.
The president wrote, "I have immediately activated the Emergency Operations Committee (COE) team, comprised of the Armed Forces, the Honduran Fire Department, COPECO, the National Police, 911, the Red Cross, the Ministry of Health, and SAN. They have immediately arrived at the scene of the plane crash that occurred 1 km from Roatán International Airport and are tirelessly assisting in the unfortunate incident. The public hospitals in San Pedro Sula and La Ceiba are now ready to treat injured passengers. May God protect people's lives."
Also among the crash was an American, a French resident, and two children.
