BBC News
A small medical transport plane crashed into several buildings in north-east Philadelphia on Friday evening, killing all six people on board and at least one other person on the ground, according to the city’s mayor.
The jet was on a medical transport trip, carrying a child patient and her mother, along with four crew. All six aboard were Mexican nationals.
Another person who was in a car on the ground at the time of the crash was killed, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said.
Nineteen others were injured, though the city leader said that number could change.
Speaking at the same press conference on Saturday, Philadelphia city managing director Adam Thiel said it would probably be “days or more” until officials are able to “definitively answer the question about the number of folks who perished in this tragedy and the outcome of those who were injured”.
He added that there remain “a lot of unknowns about who was where on the streets of this neighbourhood last night at the time of impact”.
Flight logs show the plane was in the air “for only a minute” before it crashed, Mayor Parker said in an earlier statement.
Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro called it an “awful aviation disaster”.
Videos of the incident show the plane coming down quickly and sparking a huge fireball.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed all six people on board were from that country.
“I mourn the passing of six Mexicans in the aviation accident in Philadelphia, United States,” she said in a statement translated from Spanish.
“My solidarity with their loved ones and friends,” she added.
The Mexican foreign ministry said personnel at the country’s consulate in Philadelphia were in contact with next-of-kin.
The girl on the plane, from Tijuana, Mexico, had received an unspecified treatment at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia, said hospital spokesman Mel Bower.
Mr Bower said the girl’s treatment had ended and she was on her way home, and that there had been “a send-off” at the hospital for her earlier on Friday.
He added that two doctors on the plane were from the Jet Air Rescue Air Ambulance.
The plane left Northeast Philadelphia Airport at about 18:07 local time and crashed less than 4 miles (6.4km) away moments later, the BBC’s US partner CBS reported.
It was bound for Springfield, Missouri.
The first emergency calls went out at about 18:12, it added.
In a statement, Jared Solomon, a local state representative, said: “In a time of profound tragedy, I was inspired to witness hundreds of our first responders sprinting towards danger to ensure the safety of our neighbourhood.”
Mayor Parker said emergency workers had worked through the night at the crash site.
She advised local residents to stay away from the location if possible, as the investigation was ongoing.
“If you see debris, call 911, don’t touch anything,” she told city residents.
Nearby households lost electricity after the crash, the mayor said.
Witnesses described shrapnel damaging cars and sending burning debris into the streets. Photos of the aftermath show mangled vehicles.
The crash happened just blocks from the Roosevelt Mall, a three-storey shopping centre in a densely populated part of Philadelphia, the fifth biggest city in the US.
The area is filled with terraced housing and shops.
Fire officials said multiple homes caught fire in the area of Cottman Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard.
A spokesperson for Temple University Hospital-Jeanes in Philadelphia said it had treated six of those who were injured on the ground during the crash.
Three were treated and released – details were not known about the condition of the other three.
One man said he was driving when he heard a whirring sound and then a loud explosion.
“Everyone just started screaming,” he said.
Another witness told local media the explosion “lit up the whole sky”.
“I just saw a plane basically hit the building and it exploded. The sky lit up and I pulled over and basically, it was just real bad around here,” the witness told WPVI-TV, describing the crash as feeling like an earthquake.
Ryan Tian, 23, told the Philadelphia Inquirer he was getting dinner when he saw a “massive fireball” that turned the sky orange. “I thought we were getting attacked by something,” he said.
Did you witness the crash? If it is safe to do so, get in touch.
According to data on FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, the plane was operated by a company called Med Jets, and had arrived in Philadelphia from Florida less than four hours earlier.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating.
In a statement, President Donald Trump said his administration was “totally engaged”.
“So sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost,” he said.
