Galveston Bay Crash: Search Continues For Final Passenger After Mexican Navy Flight Goes Down In Fog
A Mexican Navy medical flight carrying eight people, including a 1-year-old burn patient, crashed in Galveston Bay on Monday. Authorities have recovered 5 bodies as search efforts continue in heavy fog near the Galveston Causeway.
by Zee Media Bureau · Zee NewsAt least five fatalities have been reported among those who were aboard the Mexican Navy plane that went down into Galveston Bay during a critical health transport mission. This plane was carrying a young pediatric patient along with other passengers when the plane crashed near the Galveston Causeway.
According to the US Coast Guard and local officials, eight people were on board the Beechcraft King Air 350i aircraft at the time of the "accident." As of Tuesday morning, five bodies had been recovered by the authorities, with two in the hospital as survivors, while another individual had not been accounted for.
Medical Mission Ends In Disaster
The plane was headed from Mexico to Galveston, Texas, carrying a young patient to a specialized facility. Among the eight persons aboard:
Navy Personnel: Four officers of the Mexican Navy, two of whom are pilots.
Civilians: Four civilians, including one child believed to be 1 year old, who is thought to be a burn victim, and two staff members of the Michou and Mau Foundation, which is an NGO that works to treat children with severe burn injuries.
Mexico's Navy issued a statement that confirmed the flight was a "humanitarian medical mission" and apologised for the "unfortunate accident" that occurred.
Search And Investigation Underway
The crash happened around 3:15 PM local time near the base of the causeway that connects Galveston Island to the Texas mainland.
Response Teams: The Galveston County Sheriff's Office response included dive response teams and crime scene responders. The U.S. Coast Guard is responsible for searching by waterways.
Federal Oversight: Representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, and the National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, also arrived in order to start an investigation.
Public Notice: The public is requested to stay away from the area of the causeway so that the emergency teams can function effectively.
Weather: A Possible Factor?
Although the reason for this is, as yet, unclear, it has been observed that the weather conditions that prevailed at the time of the event were hazardous.
Heavy Fog: Cameron Batiste of the National Weather Service described how “a heavy fog rolled into our area approximately 2:30 PM Monday afternoon. Visibility was reduced to about half a mile.”
Ongoing Conditions: The foggy weather seen on Monday night was also expected to impact search efforts through Tuesday morning.