Popular Honduran musician Aurelio Martinez among 12 killed in Caribbean plane crash

WASHINGTON — A plane crashed off the Caribbean coast of Honduras Monday night, killing at least 12 people including a popular musician, authorities said. Five others were injured. 

The aircraft had taken off at 7:00 p.m. from the Juan Manuel Gálvez airport on the Honduran island of Roatán and was bound for La Ceiba, in the department of Atlántida, officials said.

The plane was unable to reach sufficient height and power and plunged into the sea approximately one kilometer from the beach, according to a police report.

The plane, a Jetstream 32 with 15 passengers and two crew on board, including two minors, sank almost immediately, officials said.

Well-known Garifuna musician Aurelio Martinez, who held dual citizenship in Honduras and the United States, was among the dead, according to fire officials.

"Martinez’s virtuosic musicianship and passionate performances made him a mainstay of the La Cieba music scene, where he was best loved for his take on punta rock, the high-energy, Garifuna roots-infused pop genre that took Central America by storm in the 1990s," the bio stated. In the early 2000s, Martinez served in the Honduran National Congress. 

According to initial reports, a mechanical failure was presumed to be the cause of the plane crash but it's still under investigation. 

Nearby fishermen rescued at least 10 people and took them to dry land where they were transported to hospital. Dramatic video uploaded to social media by police showed officers and others carrying survivors onto the shoreline. 

Hours later, the Fire Department confirmed through social media networks the deaths of 12 people, while five survivors were taken to a hospital in San Pedro Sula due to the seriousness of their injuries.