At least 12 people were killed after a plane crashed along the Caribbean coast of Honduras on Monday night, officials said.
The aircraft operated by Honduran airline Lanhsa fell into the sea within a minute of taking off from Roatán Island.
The Honduras National Police and Fire Service said separately that five people were rescued and one person has not been found.
The cause of the crash is not clear, but Mayor Rotane told local media that it was not because the weather was normal. The Civil Aviation Administration of Honduras said an investigation is underway.
At 18:18 local time (00:18 GMT), the 32 aircraft of the plane took off from the island’s Juan Manuel Galvez International Airport and were bound to the Golosón International Airport in Laseba, Honduras.
The plane “turned to the right side of the runway and fell into the water,” AFP news agency quoted civil aviation official Carlos Padilla as saying.
In a statement on social media, the government expressed “unity” to the victim’s families.
It added: “The Honduran government deeply regrets Roatán’s tragic accident and joins the national mourning.”
After the crash, Honduran President Xiomara Castro “activates immediately” the country’s emergency committee, which includes all emergency services including the military, police, fire department, Red Cross and the Ministry of Health.
She wrote on X that the committee team worked “relatively” to help.
Castro added: “May God protect people’s lives.”
Videos shared by officials on social media show dark work along the rocky coastline with boats and stretchers.
The Honduras Armed Forces said in a post accompanying X’s photo that the survivor with injuries was taken to a hospital in the city of San Pedro Sula by air force aircraft.
According to local media reports, among the deceased was the famous Honduran musician Aurelio Martinez Suazo.
Suazo is a member of Garifuna, a man of a mix of indigenous and African Caribbean descent who originated from St Vincent Island and has a unique musical style.
