A small passenger plane crashed shortly after takeoff from a Caribbean island near mainland Honduras on Monday, resulting in the deaths of all but five of the 17 individuals on board, authorities reported.

The Jetstream 32 aircraft carried 15 passengers and two crew members when it departed Monday evening from Roatán Island airport, en route to La Ceiba, a city on the country’s northern coast, as stated by Honduras’ civil aeronautics agency.

Later, the national police announced on social media that 12 fatalities occurred and five individuals survived the crash. They also mentioned that the body of one of the deceased was yet to be found, and ongoing recovery efforts were being conducted at the crash site.

As of Tuesday morning, the cause of the crash remained unclear. The civil aeronautics agency informed that an investigation had commenced to determine the reason behind the incident.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/world/americas/honduras-plane-crash-roatan.html