The Archbishop of Philadelphia (USA), Mons. Nelson Pérez, asked everyone to “join in prayer” after a private medical plane that transported a pediatric patient, his mother and four crew members crashed on Friday At night in the northeast of Philadelphia.
“My heart sank when I learned that a plane crashed in Cottman Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard in the northeastern Philadelphia tonight,” Pérez said in a declaration of January 31.
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The plane, owned by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, crashed just after taking off from the Northeast of Philadelphia airport around 6:00 pm (local time). He was heading to Branson, Missouri, before his final destination in Tijuana, Mexico.
The six passengers, all Mexican citizens, died, the Philadelphia Inquirer.
On Saturday afternoon, the mayor of Philadelphia, Cherelle L. Parker, said that a person who was in a car died and that at least 19 people on land were injured, the Inquirer said.
A representative of the Shrner Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia said that the girl had received attention at the hospital and returned home with her mother, according to the Inquirer.
The Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said in a publication on Saturday, February 1 that “the consular authorities are in permanent contact with family members; I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support everything that is required. My solidarity with their loved ones and friends. ”
“This shocking tragedy brings great loss, pain and anxiety for the families of the crew and passengers, as well as for the residents of the neighborhood and business owners whose night was destroyed by sudden violence,” said Mons. Pérez In your statement.
“We pray fervently so that God brings comfort and healing in this moment of anguish,” he added.
The prelate of Cuban origin prayed so that the Blessed Mother is with the lifeguards and the emergency personnel and extended their gratitude for their service.
“Let’s join all in prayer and do what we can in the next few days to share the compassionate love of Christ with those who suffer as a result of tonight’s accident,” said the archbishop
The tragedy occurs just two days after an American Eagle flight collided with a US Black Hawk helicopter. Uu. On the Potomac River, near the Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, on January 29, leaving 67 dead.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Press team. Originally published in CNA
Tina Dennelly
Tina Dennelly is senior copy editor of the Catholic News Agency. He graduated from the School of Journalism of the University of Missouri and has more than 25 years of experience writing and editing for newspapers, magazines, books and other Catholic media.