7 Adults, 3 Children Killed After Private Jet Attempts Emergency Landing

Ten people, including three children, tragically died when a private jet caught fire while attempting an emergency landing in Mexico.

The jet tried to make an emergency landing on a soccer field in San Mateo, Atenco, on Monday, December 15. Unfortunately, it couldn’t land safely and crashed into a nearby warehouse, bursting into flames, according to reports from The Telegraph, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and the Associated Press. The crash site is about 60 miles southwest of Mexico City.

The plane had been flying from Acapulco to Toluca before the crash, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The warehouse it hit was storing fuel and gas tanks, which forced authorities to evacuate people in the surrounding area for safety, confirmed Cristóbal Castañeda, Secretary of Security for the State of Mexico.

San Mateo Atenco Mayor Ana Muñiz said around 130 people were evacuated, while Mexico State Civil Protection Coordinator Adrián Hernández confirmed that ten people, including three minors, died in the accident. The private jet reportedly carried eight passengers and two crew members, though only seven bodies have been recovered so far. Authorities have not yet released the victims’ identities.

Local resident Octavio Contreras described the terrifying scene to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: “It spun around like when a fan breaks loose. Then we heard the explosion, the truck even moved, and then we saw smoke coming out.”

Photos shared online show emergency responders from the Toluca fire service near the burned warehouse, with smashed windows and a scorched soccer field visible in the aftermath.

Toluca’s Civil Protection Firefighters posted on Facebook that they coordinated with neighboring municipalities to extinguish the fire and safeguard residents. “We continue to work in solidarity with state emergency bodies to achieve the total fire extinguishing and safeguarding the population,” they wrote.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the crash. The Attorney General’s Office will lead the inquiry, with the Federal Agency of Civil Aviation and related aviation authorities also investigating the cause of the tragedy.