Plane Crash Off Caribbean Island Kills at Least 12 People, Including Famous Musician

A small plane crash off the coast of the Honduran island of Roatan killed at least 12 people, including well-known musician Aurelio Martinez, officials reported. The tragedy occurred on Monday night when a Lanhsa Airlines plane took off from Roatan, a popular tourist destination, heading for La Ceiba on the Honduran mainland.

Initial Incident and Rescue Efforts

Civil aviation official Carlos Padilla reported that the plane “made a sharp turn to the right of the runway and fell into the water.” A fisherman, who witnessed the incident, said to HCH television, “The plane almost fell on us.”

Seventeen passengers and crew were on the plane. Five of them were rescued and hospitalized. Rescue teams quickly reached the scene and began their search. Dramatic video posted on social media by the national police showed workers carrying one of the survivors on a stretcher onto the rocky shore. The rescue efforts continued, with one body still missing at the time.

Roatan fire captain Franklin Borjas told Reuters that the survivors were taken to a nearby hospital. “It’s been difficult to access the accident site because there are 30 meters of rocks and you can’t get there while walking or swimming,” Borjas said. He explained that assisting divers had zero visibility, making the search even harder.

Deadly Plane Crash in Honduras’ Caribbean Waters: 7 Dead, 10 Rescued
A tragic plane crash near the island of Roatán in the Caribbean Sea has claimed the lives of seven people, while 10 others have been rescued. The incident occurred on Monday night, just minutes after the… pic.twitter.com/ubqd9ur4MP

— CSB News USA (@csbnewsus) March 18, 2025

Remembering Aurelio Martinez

Among the victims was Aurelio Martinez, who was not just a musician but also a former member of Congress. A member of the Garifuna ethnic group, which blends African and Indigenous heritage, Martinez also held U.S. citizenship. His representative, Helene Odile Guivarch from France, survived the crash.

Martinez was originally from Honduras’ Gracias a Dios region along the Caribbean coast. “We’re devastated,” said his nephew Ángel Aparicio Fernández Martínez, also a musician. “He was the family’s pillar.”

Martinez first gained fame with the band Los Gatos Bravos before forming his group, Lita Ariran. His debut album “Garifuna Soul” took him on tours to Europe, the U.S., and beyond. “He was the greatest model from Honduras of Garifuna music on a worldwide stage,” his nephew added.

 

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Legacy and Investigation

According to the Kennedy Center, 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 plane had 15 passengers, two pilots, and a flight attendant, as reported by the police. The crash, occurring about half a mile from the island’s coast, was due to an “apparent mechanical failure” in the British-made Jetstream 41, a police statement said.

Honduran President Xiomara Castro activated an emergency committee made up of the armed forces, firefighters, and others to assist the victims of the accident.