A plane crash off a remote island killed twelve people

A devastating aviation tragedy unfolded off the northern coast of Honduras, plunging the country into mourning and drawing international attention to the fragile realities of regional air travel. On Monday, shortly after taking off from Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport on Roatán Island, a Lanhsa Airlines aircraft crashed into the Caribbean Sea, ending what should have been a brief domestic flight to La Ceiba on the mainland. The journey, normally lasting less than fifteen minutes, instead turned catastrophic almost immediately after departure. Witnesses reported seeing the plane lose control shortly after takeoff before plunging into the water approximately one kilometer from the shoreline. The crash claimed the lives of twelve people, including three crew members and several passengers, among them the internationally celebrated Garifuna musician Aurelio Martínez. The suddenness of the incident, occurring so close to the airport and within sight of land, intensified the shock felt by island residents, travelers, and the wider Honduran public. For a nation accustomed to relying on short regional flights to bridge its geographic divides, the disaster was a painful reminder of how swiftly routine travel can turn into tragedy.