6 Feared Dead After Medical Plane Crashes Near Philadelphia Mall

A small medical plane carrying six people crashed near a shopping center in Northeast Philadelphia on Friday night, apparently leaving no survivors and sending a large fireball into the air that engulfed homes and vehicles in flames, the authorities said.

The Learjet 55 was transporting a young female patient from Philadelphia, where she had completed treatment, to her home in Mexico, said Shai Gold, a spokesman for Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, which owns the plane. She was accompanied by her mother, and there were also two pilots, a doctor and a paramedic on board, he added.

The patient had been treated at Shriners Children’s in Philadelphia, said the hospital’s spokesman, Mel Bower. All six people on the plane were Mexican, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said.

The burning debris from the plane left an apartment building and several vehicles in flames. Several blocks within a roughly half-mile radius were cordoned off. Residents described seeing thick smoke rising from the crash site and smelling fuel.

Several people injured in connection with the crash were taken to Temple Health, said Jennifer Reardon, a spokeswoman for the hospital. Three were released after treatment, and three others remained hospitalized, she said, without elaborating on whether they had been on the plane or on the ground.

The plane had a planned stop in Missouri for fuel before its final destination, Tijuana International Airport, Mr. Gold said. He added that he would not release any names until family members were notified.