Mexican Navy plane crashes off US coast, killing five 

A small Mexican Navy plane transporting a medical patient and seven others has crashed off the southern coast of the United States, killing at least five people.

In a statement on Monday, Mexico’s Navy said that four of the people on board were Navy officers, and four were civilians, including a child.

Two people survived the crash, while one person remains missing, it said.

The Mexican Marine Corps said in a statement that it is sending “its deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident”.

US coastguard Petty Officer Luke Baker told The Associated Press news agency that at least five on board had died, but he did not identify which passengers.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The statement from Mexico’s Navy said the plane had an “accident” during its approach to Galveston, but did not elaborate.

According to the flight tracking website Flight Radar, the plane took off from Merida in Mexico’s Yucatan state at 18:46 GMT, and was last recorded at 21:01 GMT over Galveston Bay, along the coast of Texas, near Scholes International airport.

Mexico’s Navy said the plane was helping with a medical mission in coordination with the Michou and Mau Foundation, which provides emergency transport to children with life-threatening burns to Shriners Children’s Hospital in Galveston, according to the nonprofit’s website.

Teams from the US Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have arrived at the scene of the crash, the Texas Department of Public Safety said on the social platform X.

A spokesperson from NTSB said they are “aware of this accident and are gathering information about it”.

The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said that officials from its dive team, crime scene unit, drone unit and patrol were responding to the crash.

It was not immediately clear if the weather was a factor.

The area has been experiencing foggy conditions over the past few days, according to Cameron Batiste, a US National Weather Service meteorologist. He said that at about 2:30pm (20:30 GMT) on Monday, fog came in that had about a half-mile (0.8km) visibility.