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WGOLV.COM - A plane crash off the coast of a Caribbean island this week has claimed the lives of at least 12 people, including a legendary musician, composer, and Garifuna activist.
Aurelio Martinez, a well-known figure in the Honduran Garifuna music scene during the 1990s and the country's first black congressman, was among those killed when the aircraft crashed shortly after departing from the Honduran island of Roatan, en route to the mainland port of La Ceiba, on Monday night.
The plane, a British-made Jetstream 41, suffered an “apparent mechanical failure” and came down just half a mile from the island’s coast, according to a statement from police.
It “made a sharp turn to the right of the runway and fell into the water,” civil aviation official Carlos Padilla said.
“The plane almost fell on us. I was fishing,” a fisherman, whose name was not given, told HCH television.
Rescue operations underway after plane crash
According to police, Aerolinea Lanhsa Flight 018 had 15 passengers, two pilots, and a flight attendant on board.
Emergency crews were seen carrying a survivor on a stretcher onto the rocky shore in a dramatic video posted on social media by the national police, as the fire department rescued five people.
One body is still missing following the crash, police said, as they shared another video from the scene.
Aurelio Martinez, 55 - Photo by Katia Paradis
Tributes were paid to Aurelio Martinez, 55, who has been described as one of Central America’s most gifted performers.
From 2006 to 2010, Martinez served as a congressman in Honduras, the first black member of Congress.
Honduran President Xiomara Castro de Zelaya said she had “immediately activated” rescuers as well as the Red Cross.
“May God protect people’s lives,” she said.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends, loved ones of Aurelio Martinez, and all those who lost their lives in this plane crash.
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