Six passengers of a medical jet and one person on the ground were killed after the plane crashed in a Philadelphia neighborhood on Friday evening, officials said.
Officials said on the ground, 19 people were injured in the crash, which caused an explosion and set several homes ablaze near the Roosevelt Mall in the area of Roosevelt Boulevard and Cottman Avenue.
The small plane, a Learjet 55, had just departed Northeast Philadelphia Airport bound for Springfield, Missouri, when it went down, according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed all six people aboard — all of whom were Mexican citizens — were killed.
“I mourn the passing of six Mexicans in the aviation accident in Philadelphia, United States. Consular authorities are in constant contact with the families; I’ve asked the Foreign Affairs Secretary to support whatever is needed. My solidarity with their loved ones and friends,” she said in a statement written in Spanish.
The plane crashed into a neighborhood near the Roosevelt Mall just moments after leaving the airstrip at approximately 6:07 p.m. The first emergency calls went out about five minutes later, at 6:12 p.m.
The plane was operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, a Florida-based company that specializes in flights to Mexico, South America and the Caribbean, the company’s website states. In a statement, JRAA said the six people aboard the plane included four crew members, a pediatric patient, and the patient’s escort.
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