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A private plane has crashed in Mexico, killing at least 10 people, including three children under the age of 10.
The children, believed to be members of the same family, were a four-year-old boy and two girls aged two and nine. Five adult passengers also died, along with the two pilots, when the aircraft crashed into a warehouse on an industrial estate near Toluca Airport around 12:30 p.m. local time on Monday, December 15.
Authorities believe the pilot was attempting to land on a football field. The crash sparked a fire in the surrounding area, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate.
The accident occurred in San Mateo Atenco, an industrial area about three miles (5 kilometers) from Toluca Airport and roughly 31 miles (50 kilometers) west of Mexico City. The plane had departed from Acapulco, located along Mexico’s Pacific coast.
Initial local reports indicated that six bodies were found inside the wreckage, but the confirmed death toll later rose to 10. Investigators are focusing on a potential engine failure, as the last communication between the pilot and air traffic controllers reportedly included the words: “We’re crashing.”
The victims have been partially or fully identified. The pilot was named Juan Carlos Olivares Casas, and the co-pilot was Walding Sanchez Manzano. The adult passengers killed are Raul Gomez Ruiz, 60; Olga Janine Buenfil Cardone, 60; Gustavo Palomino Olet, 50; Ilse Lizeth Hernandez Tellez, 32; and Raul Gomez Buenfil, 31. The children are identified only by their first names: Raul, four; Natalia, two; and Ximena, nine.
San Mateo Atenco Mayor Ana Muñiz told Milenio Television that the fire forced the evacuation of around 130 people in the area.
