Plane crash in the Caribbean kills at least 12 people, including beloved musician Aurelio Martinez

At least 12 people have been killed in a plane crash off the coast of a Caribbean island, including a famous Honduran musician who went on to become a trailblazing politician.

Aurelio Martinez, a popular member of the Honduran Garifuna scene in the 1990s who became his nation’s first black congressman, was among 12 killed when his aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from the Honduran island of Roatan, heading for the port of La Ceiba on the mainland, on Monday night.

The plane, a British-made Jetstream 41, suffered an “apparent mechanical failure” and came down just half a mile from the island’s coast, according to a statement from police.

It “made a sharp turn to the right of the runway and fell into the water,” civil aviation official Carlos Padilla said.

“The plane almost fell on us. I was fishing,” a fisherman, whose name was not given, told HCH television.

Aerolinea Lanhsa Flight 018 had 15 passengers, two pilots and a flight attendant on board, according to police.

Emergency crews were seen carrying a survivor on a stretcher onto the rocky shore in a dramatic video posted on social media by the national police, as the fire department rescued five people.

One body is still missing following the crash, police said, as they shared another video from the scene.

Tributes were paid to Aurelio Martinez, 55, who has been described as one of Central America’s most gifted performers.

From 2006 to 2010, Martinez served as a congressman in Honduras, the first black member of Congress.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro de Zelaya said she had “immediately activated” rescuers as well as the Red Cross.

“May God protect people’s lives,” she said.

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