At least seven people have died after a small plane yesterday crashed into a road intersection in Philadelphia, according to officials in the United States.
All six people on board the medical jet were killed, including a child who had been receiving medical treatment in Philadelphia.
They were all Mexican nationals.
The city's Mayor Cherelle Parker said one person who was in a car at the time of the crash has also died.
At least 19 other people have been injured.
The plane took off, reached about 1,500 feet of altitude and then plummeted in a steep descent, crashing less than a minute after take-off in what National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy called a "high-impact crash" that left the plane "highly fragmented".
"The debris field extends four or five blocks," she said.
"I do want to stress that this is an active investigation scene. Debris is scattered, it is very dangerous and so I encourage everyone to stay out of the accident site."
The crash occurred two days after 67 people were killed in a midair collision between a passenger jet and a military helicopter in Washington DC.
Investigators go house to house
Authorities sifted through burned cars and charred debris on Saturday to gather clues that might explain why the air ambulance exploded in a fiery ball as it crashed to the ground shortly after taking off from the small Northeast Philadelphia Airport.
Adam Thiel, the city's managing director, said it could be days — or more — until authorities would be able to confirm the number of dead and injured.
Spokespersons for hospitals treating the injured, Temple University Hospital-Jeanes and Jefferson Health, said most of the patients they saw had been treated and released by midday on Saturday, but at least three were admitted and remain hospitalised.
The crash scene was a large area, and authorities were working to assess the damage, Mr Thiel said.
Teams were going house to house inspecting the dwellings in the area. The plane crashed near Roosevelt Mall in a densely populated area.
It is "entirely possible" that there would be changes to the casualty figures, Mr Thiel said.
There are "a lot of unknowns" as to who was where on the streets of the neighbourhood when the plane crashed.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that all six of those on board the medical transport jet were killed.
All were from Mexico.
On Saturday, in a statement on the social media platform X, Ms Sheinbaum confirmed the deaths.
"I mourn the passing of six Mexicans in the aviation accident in Philadelphia, United States," she said in a statement translated from Spanish.
"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."
Air ambulance was bound for Tijuana
The jet was transporting a child who had just completed treatment at Shriners Children's hospital, her mother and four crew members.
"The patient had received care from Shriners Children's Philadelphia and was being transported back to her home country in Mexico on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened," Shriners spokesperson Mel Bower said in a statement.
"Because of patient privacy concerns, we cannot say any more about the patient and her family at this time."
Tijuana was the flight's final destination after a stop in Missouri.
Neither Philadelphia officials nor plane owner Jet Rescue Air Ambulance disclosed the identities of the dead.
But XE Médica Ambulancias, a Mexican emergency service, identified one of its doctors, Raúl Meza, as a victim.
In a post on X, it said he was the service's chief of neonatology.
In Veracruz, a city on the Gulf of Mexico, relatives of Josué Juárez said he was the aircraft's co-pilot. They were preparing to hold a family ceremony and staying away from TV and social media to avoid seeing images of the crash.
Josué Juárez, 43, lived in central Mexico, loved salsa dancing and video games and had been a pilot for more than a decade, his brother Édgar said.
He loved to fly and worked for the air ambulance service for more than a year, flying mostly from Mexico's Caribbean coast to the United States.
"He was always aware that he had his risks, but the truth is that more accidents happen on the road," Édgar Juárez said.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance is based in Mexico and has operations both there and in the US. It operated the Learjet 55, which was registered in Mexico.
Jet Rescue spokesperson Shai Gold said a seasoned crew operated the plane and all flight crews undergo rigorous training.
The service flew baseball Hall of Famer David Ortiz to Boston after he was shot in the Dominican Republic in 2019 and was involved in transporting patients critically ill with COVID-19.
The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation. The NTSB said an investigator arrived Friday and more officials would be there Saturday.
ABC/AP
