Seven killed in plane crash in Philadelphia
Agencies
02/02/2025
Investigators are investigating the crash site of a small plane that crashed in Philadelphia on Saturday. - AP Image
PHILADELPHIA: The death toll from the crash of an air ambulance plane carrying a Mexican child home from a hospital in Philadelphia has risen to seven, a spokesman for the security forces said on Saturday.
At the same time, 19 other victims were reported to have sustained injuries.
The crash, which is the second major air disaster in the U.S. this week – occurred on Friday when a twin-engine Learjet 55 crashed into a busy residential area in Philadelphia, exploding and spreading debris to nearby homes and vehicles. Authorities had earlier said all six people on board the plane - a young girl who was in the US for her mother's treatment, and flight crew members and medical personnel - were killed.
All of them are Mexican citizens.
On Saturday, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said at least one other victim in the car was also killed and 19 others were injured.
In a press conference, Parker stressed that the death toll is "uncertain" and that it could rise further.
"We still don't know who was where in this neighbourhood during the impact," said city management director Adam Thiel, adding that it would take a few days before the exact number is known.
He said the impact area covered four to six blocks and there was also debris in a "remote area where something happened to the aircraft."
Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, expressed her condolences through the social media platform X.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would launch an investigation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The two agencies are now investigating the first air disaster in the U.S. in nearly two decades, after a passenger plane operated by a subsidiary of American Airlines collided with a Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday.
The plane, which was carrying 64 people, was landing at Reagan National Airport in the Washington area — not far from the White House — when it collided with a U.S. military helicopter on a training mission. - Agency
