Galveston (Texas), 23 December (H.S.): A Mexican Navy aircraft crashed into Galveston Bay on Monday afternoon amid dense fog, claiming at least five lives during a humanitarian medical evacuation mission for a severely burned child, with rescue operations confirming two survivors and one person still missing as of Tuesday.
The Beech King Air 350, departing from Mérida in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula and bound for Scholes International Airport, carried eight people—four Navy crew members including pilots and four civilians, among them a one- or two-year-old burn victim, a doctor, and representatives from the Michou and Mau Foundation aiding pediatric burn cases—when it went down around 3:17 p.m. west of the Galveston Causeway.
Galveston County Sheriff Jimmy Fullen reported six bodies recovered by 5 p.m. Monday, including all four crew, the patient, and the doctor per Mexican Navy updates via the Houston Consulate, while a 27-year-old woman companion and a nurse were hospitalized; the U.S. Coast Guard, Texas DPS, Galveston Police, and Sheriff's Office continue probing the fog-related incident.
Official StatementsMexico's Navy Secretariat posted on X that the flight coordinated with the Michou and Mau Foundation for the specialized transfer, vowing a full investigation.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
