Seven dead after medical plane carrying sick child erupts into fireball and crashes into Philadelphia neighbourhood

1 February 2025, 13:50 | Updated: 1 February 2025, 22:48

Officials in Philadelphia say seven people are now known to have died after a medical plane carrying a sick child crashed on Friday night.

The jet erupted in a fireball when it came down shortly after take off.

A child patient, her mother, 2 doctors and 2 pilots were onboard when the plane - headed for Tijuana, Mexico - exploded.

All six people on board were Mexican nationals, according to Mexico’s foreign ministry.

The young girl had just finished medical treatment for a life-threatening condition.

A seventh person in a car on the ground was also killed - while officials say at least 19 others were injured.

The crash saw the aircraft smash into a row of buildings in the north-eastern city, setting them on fire.

It comes just two days after 67 people were killed in a mid-air collision between a helicopter and a passenger jet in Washington DC, about 150 miles to the south-west.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was treating what happened as an accident.

It also warned it could be weeks before all the wreckage is recovered because the debris field covers a large area.

Footage from the scene showed widespread chaos, fire and destruction, with eyewitnesses visibly and audibly shocked by what they see.

Ring doorbell footage captured the crash from a distance, showing how a huge fireball erupted after the impact.

Flight logs showed the plane had been in the air only for around one minute.

Emergency services rushed to the scene, close to a large shopping centre in the north-east of the city.

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Governor of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro said: "The good people of north-east Philadelphia walked out from their homes and saw carnage in their communities and things no-one should ever have to experience in their neighbourhood.

"We also saw the best of north-east Philly - neighbour helping neighbour, folks looking out for one another".

Philadelphia is the sixth-largest city in the US, with a population of about 1.6 million people.