A view shows wreckage of a plane that crashed into the sea near the island of Roatan, Honduras, May 18, 2019, in this picture obtained from social media. Honduras Fire Department/via REUTERS
May 19, 2019
TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – Five foreigners including the pilot died on Saturday when their private plane crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Roatán island, a tourist destination on the Atlantic coast of Honduras, local authorities said.
Officials gave conflicting accounts of the victims’ nationalities. Armed forces spokesman Jose Domingo Meza said four of the victims were from the United States and the fifth victim’s nationality had yet to be determined.
Local emergency services initially said the victims included four Canadians and another victim of unknown nationality.
Local authorities did not immediately offer a cause for the accident.
The Piper PA-32-260 plane was headed to the tourist port city of Trujillo, about 80 kilometers (49.71 miles) from Roatan, a picturesque island frequented by tourists from the United States, Canada and Europe, authorities said.
(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia; writing by Julia Love; editing by Diane Craft and Cynthia Osterman)
