A MEDICAL jet has crashed into multiple buildings in northeast Philadelphia, causing homes and vehicles to go up in flames and injuring people on the ground.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, the company operating the plane, confirmed in a statement that the aircraft was on a medical mission on the evening of Friday, January 31, and carrying four crew members, a child patient, and the patient’s mum.
During a news conference at the crash site, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro acknowledged that there would likely be casualties, describing the incident as an awful aviation disaster.
Emergency teams quickly arrived at the crash site, where residents gathered on streets with burning debris and aircraft wreckage.
Witnesses recounted a chaotic scene as many people were injured and buildings engulfed in flames.
Spokesperson for Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, Shai Gold, stated that the child aboard the plane was receiving treatment in the US for a life-threatening condition and the crew was on its way back to Tijuana, Mexico.
The spokesperson confirmed that the child was accompanied by her mother, a pilot, a copilot, a doctor, and a paramedic.
Gold also said a third-party charity funded the child’s treatment. “She fought quite a lot to survive, and unfortunately, this tragedy on the way home,” he said.
Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org