Six people died after a plane crashed in a residential area of Philadelphia, all victims were Mexican, according to the AP agency reported on Friday, January 31. The crashed plane was an air ambulance carrying a girl, her mother, and four other people. The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, causing an explosion that affected several homes in a neighborhood northwest of Philadelphia.
According to reports, all the people on board the plane were from Mexico. The girl, who was being transported home to Mexico from Philadelphia due to a serious medical condition, was treated in the city by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, the company that owns the aircraft. The final destination of the flight was Tijuana, with a stop in Missouri before heading to Toronto, Canada.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance is known for providing global air ambulance services and has participated in high-profile medical transfers, such as that of baseball player David Ortiz after being injured in the Dominican Republic in 2019. The company, founded in 1996 in Mexico, is noted for being a pioneer in the medical transport of patients in the country.
The accident, which occurred less than 5 kilometers from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, involved a Learjet 55 that crashed after taking off and reaching an altitude of 487 meters. Images captured by a security camera showed the moment the plane struck the ground near a shopping center and a highway, triggering an explosion.
President Donald Trump expressed his condolences for what happened in a post on the social network Truth Social, lamenting the loss of lives. The Mexican Foreign Ministry reported that the Mexican Consulate in Philadelphia was collaborating with local authorities to confirm the nationality of the Mexican victims. Shai Gold, spokesperson for Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, assured that the crew was experienced and that the company provides rigorous training to all its staff.
