By Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Sarah Morland
MEXICO CITY, Dec 23 (Reuters) – At least six 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 on Tuesday afternoon that it had located the body of a passenger who had been missing following the crash on Monday, bringing the final death toll from the crash up to six.
Of the eight people on board the aircraft, two survived. They are in stable condition and receiving medical attention, the Navy said in a statement.
The flight was carrying the child from the southern Mexican city of Merida. President Claudia Sheinbaum said the child was among those killed in the crash.
“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.
The Mexican Navy did not provide any details about the possible cause of the accident.
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 Morland; Editing by Frances Kerry)
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