A young girl traveling home after completing “life-saving” medical treatment, her mother, and at least one medical professional were on board when an air ambulance fell out of the sky and crashed into a residential Philadelphia neighborhood.
Seven people in total have now been confirmed dead, with 19 more injured, following the shocking incident on Friday evening. Several dwellings and vehicles sustained damage in the crash.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum later confirmed that all six people onboard the flight, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, were Mexican citizens. The seventh person killed was on the ground.
Here’s what we know about the victims of the tragedy, the second aviation disaster on U.S. soil in less than 48 hours:
The flight was chartered to transport a young girl, who had just completed treatment at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia hospital.
She was later named by Jet Rescue as Valentina Guzman Murillo, and had been traveling with her mother, Lizeth Murillo Ozuna.
A hospital spokesperson said the child had spent four months there receiving life-saving treatment for a condition not easily treated in Mexico, and had been released from the hospital on Friday.
“Her journey was one of hope and of aspiration,” spokesperson Mel Bower told The Philadelphia Inquirer. The relationships that the youngster formed with staff “were true and were dear,” and she will be missed greatly by them, he said.
“It’s always a meaningful but yet emotional time for us. It’s really just been compounded by the tragic ending.”
Dr Meza was the head of neonatology for XE Médica Ambulancias, a private emergency services company, and had been providing his services to Jet Rescue Air Ambulances at the time of the incident.
Médica Ambulancias confirmed he had been on board the flight in an X post on Saturday. Meza studied medicine at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and pediatrics and neonatology at the National Institute of Pediatrics.
He was a physician assigned to the NICU at the Instituto de Salud del Estado de México in Atizapan, over 2,000 km from where the plane was due to land in Tijuana.
In its post, Médica Ambulancias said it was still awaiting further information from authorities.
On Saturday night, Rodrigo Lopez Padilla – a paramedic – was also named.
