By Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Sarah Morland
MEXICO CITY, Dec 23 (Reuters) – At least five people, including a 2-year-old burn victim, died when a small Mexican Navy aircraft crashed on Monday off the Texas coast near Galveston during a humanitarian mission to transfer the child for treatment in the United States.
The Navy said that of the eight people on board the aircraft, two survived the crash and one was missing. The flight was carrying the child from the southern Mexican city of Merida.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said the child was among those killed, and that rescue workers were still searching for the missing person.
“My condolences to the relatives … and those who were travelling in the aircraft,” she said during her regular morning press conference. “There were medics, nurses, Navy personnel and relatives of the child.”
The sheriff’s office in Galveston did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
Local Mexican broadcaster N+ said the 2-year-old had suffered third-degree burns from a boiling water spill and that various hospitals around the family’s home city of Escarcega had said they were not able to treat such a serious burn.
N+ reported that at a hospital in Merida, some 320 km (200 miles) away, the child’s family was put in touch with the Michou y Mau Foundation, which assists Mexican children with severe burns.
In some cases, the charity takes severely burned children for treatment at a hospital in Galveston.
Sheinbaum said the crash would be investigated, adding her government was working closely with the U.S. to discover what happened during the 10 minutes in which the aircraft lost communication with ground personnel in Galveston.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected,” added U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson.
(Reporting by Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Sarah MorlandEditing by Frances Kerry)
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