3 persons die in plane crash in Peten, Guatemala

Photo Credit: Peten Department Governor Luis Burgos

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: Guatemala authorities have reported that three people died in a plane crash in Peten, Guatemala on Monday morning.

Government authorities in the Peten Department this morning confirmed the crash.

Prensa Libre and other news outlets in Guatemala report that the small Cessna plane fell near  San Francisco, a city that is next to Flores, Santa Elena, and San Benito. The plane crashed a few minutes after departing from a local air strip in San Francisco, said the Peten Governor Luis Burgos.

Guatemalan Army spokesperson Rubén Téllez confirmed that at least three people had died and that there were no survivors. Téllez reported that the nearby Mundo Maya Airport in Santa Elena did not have a record of the flight.

Governor Burgos said the three dead, a man and two women, were missionaries working out of a church in San Francisco. Burgos said the three had just departed from the local air track in that municipality, where they have a hospital, and were heading to Guatemala City. The governor identified the three as 64-year-old pilot Jamez Dehart, Bony Dehart (64), and Helen Shawn Coon (66).

The Guatemalan Public Ministry is investigating the crash.