A medevac plane crashed soon after takeoff in Philadelphia on Friday with a child and five others on board, the air ambulance company that operated it said, adding that it had not confirmed any survivors,
Reuters reports.
Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, based in Mexico and licensed to operate in the U.S., said its aircraft crashed with four crew members, one pediatric medical patient and the patient's mother on board.
"At this time we cannot confirm any survivors," the company said in a statement.
State and local officials said late on Friday they could not yet confirm how many people may have died on the ground after the plane slammed into a heavily populated portion of the city. Videos taken by witnesses of the crash clearly showed body parts strewn about the streets and inside nearby homes.
The Mexican government said all those on the plane were Mexican nationals, CNN reported.
The child was a girl on her way home with a final destination of Tijuana, Shai Gold, who works on corporate strategy with Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, told CNN. Her mother was also aboard, he said.
"We are terribly shocked by this tragic turn of events," Gold said. "This was a very seasoned crew. We are a leading air ambulance company, we fly 600 to 700 times a year."
He said the company had invested heavily in maintaining its aircraft to the highest international standards and that the plane that crashed had been in excellent flying condition.
"We really don't know what happened," Gold said.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro told a press conference at the crash scene that "we know there will be loss in this region."
