Six people on board Ambulance jet crashes into residential area in Philadelphia

SDA

1.2.2025 - 02:51

First responders work at the scene of an accident after a small plane crashed in Philadelphia. A private small plane crashed in the middle of a busy area in the north of the city. Photo: Matt Rourke/AP/dpa
First responders work at the scene of an accident after a small plane crashed in Philadelphia. A private small plane crashed in the middle of a busy area in the north of the city. Photo: Matt Rourke/AP/dpa
Keystone

In Philadelphia, a jet for medical transportation with six people on board has crashed in the middle of a busy area of the US East Coast city. The patient on the plane was a child.

Keystone-SDA

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  • An ambulance jet crashed shortly after takeoff in a busy neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia.
  • Several homes and vehicles are affected.
  • There were six people on board, including a child patient.

The plane crashed in the middle of a busy area in the north-east of the city - with many stores, residential buildings and traffic. A large number of rescue workers were deployed. There was initially no information on possible injuries or fatalities. "At this time, we have no information on the number of fatalities", said the mayor of Philadelphia, Cherelle Parker. However, she emphasized that several homes and vehicles were affected. The governor of the state of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, said: "We know there will be casualties in this region."

Pictures broadcast by several US television stations showed dramatic scenes: a huge explosion, a fireball and large plumes of smoke - in the middle of an area in north-east Philadelphia with a large concentration of stores and busy roads in the evening rush hour. The area was cordoned off and residents were asked to avoid the area.

The FAA announced that the aircraft involved in the accident was a Learjet 55 - a private and business aircraft. The plane had taken off from a nearby airport, Northeast Philadelphia Airport, and crashed shortly after take-off. The plane was on its way to the state of Missouri. Philadelphia is a city of 1.5 million people on the east coast of the USA, while the state of Missouri is located in the interior of the country.

US President Donald Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform: "It is so sad that the plane crashed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost."

The country had just been shaken by a devastating plane crash in the capital, Washington. On Wednesday evening, an American Airlines passenger plane collided with a military helicopter on landing at Ronald Reagan Airport (DCA). According to the authorities, all 67 people died in the accident. It was the most serious airplane accident in the USA for more than 20 years.