10 Dead, Including 3 Children, After Private Jet Attempts Emergency Landing onto Soccer Field and Bursts into Flames

Ten people, including three children, were killed after a small private jet crashed in central Mexico, local authorities said.

The aircraft was attempting an emergency landing on Monday, Dec. 15, at a soccer field in San Mateo Atenco — about 32 miles west of Mexico City — when it struck a warehouse and erupted into flames, according to The Telegraph, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Associated Press.

The jet had departed from Acapulco and was headed to Toluca, the ABC reported.

Because the warehouse reportedly stored fuel and gas tanks, officials evacuated the building after the crash, Cristóbal Castañeda, the Secretary of Security for the State of Mexico, said, according to the AP.

San Mateo Atenco Mayor Ana Muñiz told Milenio Televisión that around 130 people were evacuated from the surrounding area, the AP reported.

Mexico State Civil Protection Coordinator Adrián Hernández confirmed that 10 people died, including three minors. He noted, however, that only seven bodies had been recovered.

“It spun around like when a fan breaks loose,” local resident Octavio Contreras said, according to the AP. “Then we heard the explosion, the truck even moved and then we saw smoke coming out.”

Photos from the scene showed emergency responders working near the charred warehouse, shattered windows and a scorched soccer field.

“In support of a disaster following the collapse of a small plane at the intersection of Industria Automotriz and Miguel Aleman, we immediately went to the site in coordination with Metepec Firefighters, San Mateo Atenco and Lightning, applying the relevant safety protocols,” the Civil Protection Firefighters of Toluca, known as PC Bomberos Toluca, said in a statement on Facebook.

They added: “We continue to work in solidarity and jointly with state emergency bodies and neighboring municipalities to achieve the total fire extinguishing and safeguarding the population.”

An investigation has been launched, the AP reported.