The plane crashed in Esquel was to bring a girl to undergo surgery in Buenos Aires: a doctor and a nurse died

05/06/2020 - 11:17

• Clarín.com
• Society

The plane was traveling to Esquel with a clear objective: to transport a three-year-old girl to the Federal Capital to undergo surgery for a heart condition . It was not a minor mission, since it had to do with the life of a creature. But tragedy got in the way. And two of those on the mission died. The other two fight to keep going, one of them in serious condition. That is the story behind the medical plane that crashed at Esquel airport on Tuesday night.

The aircraft crashed and burned at around 23 on Tuesday and a doctor and a nurse died on the spot. The pilot and co-pilot of the aircraft are interned in the local hospital and would be transferred to Buenos Aires in the course of this Wednesday to be better served.

The plane had departed at 8 p.m. Tuesday from San Fernando Airport, in Greater Buenos Aires. It was a Learjet 35 manufactured in 1982, belonging to the company MD Fly with registration LV-BXU. It was manned by pilot Mariano La Torre and co-pilot Martín Gamboa. The Tower is in serious condition, with fractures and burns throughout the body , while Gamboa is "more stable", confirmed the director of the Esquel hospital, Sergio Cardozo.

In turn, the doctor, Federico Bassi and the nurse Patricio Wemsley died on the spot when the aircraft caught fire. According to the first experts, the ship would have crashed within the airport perimeter, about 200 meters from the main runway . In other words, for reasons that are still being elucidated, the plane did not enter the runway. The most concrete hypothesis is that the lack of visibility could have been the main reason for the accident: there was fog at the time of the accident. Both crew members were experienced pilots. And also, flight instructors.

An ambulance leaves Esquel airport after a medical plane crashed.

The machine had been hired by the Argentine Television Union to transfer the girl, the daughter of an affiliate who works on Channel 4 of Esquel. After the accident, it was hoped that the Skeleton airport could be enabled without too much delay so that a plane could arrive from Bariloche and could complete the girl's transfer .

Another plane would transport the two wounded crewmen to be treated in a more complex center.

The access to the airport was closed shortly after the accident with a security cordon on Route 40. Only the rescue teams and authorities, including federal judge Guido Otranto, were allowed through, who was present at the place near the midnight. A Scientific Police van also entered to carry out the first surveys.

Work is underway to preserve communications between the control tower and the aircraft and also on the weather report. Visibility was poor at the time of the accident. And it is believed that it was one of the causes of the tragedy.

Chubut. Correspondent.