No fewer than 12 people have been killed after a plane crashed off the Caribbean coast of Honduras on Monday evening, officials said.
The aircraft, operated by Honduran airline Lanhsa, fell into the water less than a minute after taking off from Roatán Island.
Five individuals were rescued, according to the Honduran national police and fire departments, while one remains missing.
The cause of the accident is unknown; however, Roatán’s mayor told local media that it was not due to regular meteorological conditions. The Honduran Civil Aeronautics Agency said an inquiry was underway.
The Jetstream 32 aircraft took off from the island’s Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport at 18:18 local time (00:18 GMT on Tuesday) and was destined for Golosón International Airport in La Ceiba on the Honduran mainland.
According to civil aviation official Carlos Padilla, the plane “made a sharp turn to the right of the runway and fell into the water.”
The government expressed “solidarity” with the victims in a social media statement.
“The Government of Honduras deeply regrets the tragic accident in Roatán and joins in the national mourning,” it added.
Following the crash, Honduran President Xiomara Castro “immediately activated” the country’s emergency committee, comprised of all emergency services including the military, police, fire department, Red Cross and the Ministry of Health.
In a statement on X, she said the committee team was “working tirelessly” to provide assistance.
“May God protect people’s lives,” Castro added.
Honduran officials shared videos of rescue teams working in darkness along a rocky coastline with small boats and stretchers.
Air force planes transported survivors to a hospital in San Pedro Sula.
Among the dead was well-known Honduran musician Aurelio Martinez Suazo, a member of the Garifuna people.
