Small plane crash off Honduran island kills at least 7

Kathmandu: Around 7 people have died in a small plane crashed into the sea while taking off from the Honduran Caribbean island of Roatan.

Major Wilmer Guerrero of the fire department said 10 people were retrieved from the site of the crash, 6 of whom were pronounced dead at the hospital. A crew member’s body was then found floating in the sea near the plane, which crashed about a kilometer from the coast.

Officials gave conflicting reports on the number of people on board the plane either 17 or 18. Guerrero said one of the passengers, a 40-year-old French citizen, will be transferred to a hospital in the city of San Pedro Sula on the mainland.

The Lanhsa airlines plane took off at nightfall from Roatan, one of the Bay Islands, and one of Honduras’ main tourist destinations, heading for the port of La Ceiba, on the mainland.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro said she immediately activately an emergency committee made up of the armed forces, firefighters, and others to assist the victims of the accident.

police said in a statement, the crash was caused by an apparent mechanical failure on the British-made Jetstream 41.

RSS/AFP