A Mexican Navy aircraft on a humanitarian medical mission crashed into waters near Galveston on Monday, killing at least five people and triggering a large-scale emergency response along the Texas coast, authorities said.
The small plane was transporting a young medical patient and seven others when it went down in Galveston Bay near the base of the causeway linking Galveston Island to the mainland. Mexico’s Navy said four of those aboard were naval officers and four were civilians, including a child. Among the civilian passengers were two members of a nonprofit organization that assists Mexican children with severe burns, arranging emergency transport to a specialized hospital in Galveston.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Luke Baker confirmed that at least five people died in the crash but said officials were still working to identify the victims. Search and recovery efforts continued in the bay as investigators assessed the wreckage.
Mexico’s Navy, known as the Marines, said in a statement issued to The Associated Press that it was extending its “deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident.” The Navy added that the aircraft had been operating as part of a coordinated medical mission but provided no additional details about the circumstances leading up to the crash.
The aircraft was working in coordination with the Michou and Mau Foundation, a nonprofit that facilitates emergency transfers of children with life-threatening burns to Shriners Children’s Hospital in Galveston. The foundation acknowledged the incident in a social media post, saying it shared in the families’ grief and reaffirmed its commitment to providing “humane, sensitive, and dignified care” to children with severe burn injuries.
Emergency responders converged on the scene Monday afternoon in the busy coastal area, which is a popular beach destination roughly 50 miles southeast of Houston. Local, state and federal agencies deployed boats, divers, drones and patrol units as visibility conditions remained challenging.
Sky Decker, a professional yacht captain who lives about a mile from the crash site, said he rushed to the area in his boat after hearing about the incident. He told The Associated Press that police officers guided him through thick fog to the wreckage, which was almost completely submerged.
Decker said he entered the water and discovered a severely injured woman trapped beneath seats and debris inside the aircraft. He described a narrow air pocket that allowed her to breathe as fuel fumes mixed with the surrounding water. He also recovered the body of a man seated in front of her, whom he said had already died. Both appeared to be civilians, Decker said.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said teams from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board arrived at the scene Monday evening. An NTSB spokesperson confirmed the agency was aware of the crash and had begun gathering information. The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said its dive team, crime scene unit, drone operators and patrol officers were assisting in the response.
The cause of the crash remained under investigation. Mexico’s Navy said the aircraft suffered an “accident” while approaching Galveston but did not elaborate. It was not immediately clear whether weather played a role, though fog has lingered along the upper Texas coast in recent days. National Weather Service meteorologist Cameron Batiste said visibility dropped to about a half mile around the time of the crash.
Beyond the immediate tragedy, the incident highlights the risks involved in cross-border humanitarian missions that routinely move critically ill patients to specialized care. Investigators are expected to examine flight data, maintenance records and environmental conditions as they work to determine what went wrong during the aircraft’s final approach.
NBC
