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This is the terrifying moment a private jet plummeted to the ground in Mexico, killing all ten on board, including three young children.
The children, believed to be members of the same family, were a four-year-old boy and two girls aged nine and two.
Five adult passengers also died, along with two pilots, when the jet smashed into a warehouse on an industrial estate near Mexico’s Toluca Airport at around 12.30pm local time yesterday.
The Cessna Citation III private jet had taken off from the famous Pacific resort of Acapulco just half an hour earlier.
Initial local reports said six bodies had been found inside the wreckage before the confirmed death toll rose to 10.
In dramatic footage circulating online, the plane is seen plummeting from the sky in an area crowded with buildings.
In another cut of the video, thick fumes can be seen emanating from the crash site as people gather to inspect the carnage.
Another shot shows emergency fire service workers scrambling to put out the flames.
Pictures also revealed the aftermath of the crash, showing the building with a gaping hole in its wall.
A terrifying video has revealed the moment the plane plummeted from the sky after attempting to make an emergency landing
A helicopter seen landing at the site, near a children’s play area. The jet is said to have struck the roof of a warehouse
Authorities have said the aircraft crashed while attempting to make an emergency landing in a football field near a children’s play area.
Instead, it hit the metal roof of a nearby warehouse, which stored fuel and gas tanks, starting the huge blaze.
Miraculously, no one was inside the premises at the time, with local reports pointing to employees having been given the day off.
A probe into the accident was ongoing today, with investigators said to be focusing on the theory that an engine problem was to blame, as the last conversation between the pilot and air traffic controllers emerged in which he could be heard saying: ‘We’re crashing.’
JetPro, the company operating the air taxi service, which has a fleet of 11 jets and four helicopters, has yet to comment.
The ten people who died have already been fully or partly named.
The pilot was identified locally as Juan Carlos Olivares Casas, with his co-pilot named Walding Sanchez Manzano.
The adult passengers killed were 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 who died have so far only been identified by their first names – Raul, four, Natalia, two, and Ximena, nine.
San Mateo Atenco mayor, Ana Muniz, told local media that the fire forced around 150 people to be evacuated from the area.
Thick fumes could be seen from the crash site as a crowd gathered to inspect the damage
Authorities have said the crash forced the evacuation of several people
Cristobal Castaneda, Minister of Public Security for the State of Mexico, which Toluca is part of, said: ‘Two blocks around the premises the plane crashed into had to be evacuated because of the fuel and gas tanks inside. The evacuation was carried out as a precautionary measure.’
Speaking about the crash, a resident said: ‘It spun around like when a fan breaks loose. Then we heard the explosion, the truck even moved, and then we saw smoke coming out.’
Servicios Aereos Estrella, the company initially wrongly named as the private jet operator, released a statement refuting the claim.
It said: ‘We deeply regret the accident that occurred and accompany with respect and solidarity the people and families affected by this terrible event, wishing them strength in these difficult moments.
‘We would also like to inform you that the aircraft involved doesn’t belong to Servicios Aereos Estrella and neither is it operated by us.’
Authorities are now investigating the cause of the crash.
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