A small commercial plane crashed into the sea off Honduras’ coast Monday night, killing 12 people, including a well-known Garifuna musician. The Lanhsa Airlines flight, carrying 17 passengers and crew, failed to reach full altitude before sinking quickly after impact. Five survivors were rescued and hospitalized.
Among those killed was Aurelio MartÃnez Suazo, a former member of Congress and member of the Garifuna ethnic group, who also held U.S. citizenship. He was originally from Honduras’ Gracias a Dios region along the country’s Caribbean coast.
MartÃnez Suazo was a respected figure in the Garifuna music scene, known for his album “Garifuna Soul,” which took him to Europe, the United States, and other parts of the world. His nephew described him as “the greatest model from Honduras of Garifuna music on a worldwide stage.”
The investigation into the crash is ongoing, led by the Honduran Civil Aeronautics Agency. The victims’ bodies were taken from Roatan to the morgue in San Pedro Sula.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/honduras-plane-crash-garifuna-aurelio-6f69d2eff0042d5f65afa07668a5a774