A business jet carrying six people crashed onto a highway in South Texas on Tuesday night, prompting emergency crews and nearby civilians to rush toward the wreckage and help pull survivors from the flames.
Officials said one person died and five others were hurt after the aircraft came down on Loop 20 in Laredo, forcing the closure of the highway in both directions and leaving debris strewn across several lanes. It was not immediately clear whether the person who died was on the plane or on the ground.
Video captured by a witness showed first responders working to break through the jet’s windshield while police, firefighters, and members of the public tried to remove those trapped inside as the aircraft burned.
Several of the people rescued from the jet were able to walk away from the scene on their own.
The aircraft involved was a NetJets-operated Cessna Citation Latitude, identified by tracking data as N523QS. The jet departed from Los Cabos International Airport in Mexico at about 6:19pm local time after originally being bound for Austin, Texas, before diverting to Laredo, near the US-Mexico border.
Authorities were dispatched just before 10pm local time after the airport control tower was alerted to mechanical trouble on the plane, Laredo Police Public Information Officer Jose Baeza told CNN.
According to Baeza, the jet then lost contact with air traffic control before crashing onto the roadway and hitting a moving vehicle.
Tracking data appears to show the aircraft descending toward Laredo International Airport before its transponder signal disappeared at around 600 feet. It was about two and a half miles from the runway at approximately 9:58pm local time.
Laredo International Airport Director Gilberto Sanchez also told a local news outlet that the aircraft experienced a mechanical failure before the crash.
Police have not publicly identified the six people who were aboard, and officials have not yet provided an update on the severity of the survivors’ injuries. All of the injured were transported to a local hospital.
“Regrettably and tragically there is one deceased involved in this crash,” Baeza said, declining to share further details while the victim’s family is notified.
Authorities have not said whether anyone inside the vehicle struck by the plane was injured.
The rescue operation also left several first responders hurt. Laredo police said five officers were taken to hospital after suffering smoke inhalation while helping remove people from the burning wreckage.
NetJets said in a statement that the crash involved one of its aircraft and that it was working with authorities.
Federal investigators are now involved. Both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration have been notified, and FBI agents were also at the scene on Tuesday night.
The investigation is ongoing, and more details are expected to emerge.