Seven people were killed after a medical transport plane crashed into a north-east Philadelphia neighborhood on Friday.

All six people on the flight and one person on the ground are dead. Nineteen others were injured, the Philadelphia mayor, Cherelle Parker, said.

The half-dozen people killed onboard the airplane, all from Mexico, included a child patient receiving care in Philadelphia, her mother and four others, including crew members. The plane, which crashed a mere 30 seconds after taking off, erupted into a fireball and set several homes ablaze.

“I mourn the passing of six Mexicans in the aviation accident in Philadelphia, United States,” Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico’s president, said in a Spanish-language post on X. “Consular authorities are in constant contact with the families; I’ve asked the foreign affairs secretary to support whatever is needed. My solidarity with their loved ones and friends.”

The patient had just completed treatment at Shriners Children’s hospital and was on the jet with her mother and four crew members.

“The patient had received care from Shriners Children’s Philadelphia and was being transported back to her home country in Mexico on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened,” Shriners spokesperson Mel Bower said in a statement.

“Because of patient privacy concerns, we cannot say any more about the patient and her family at this time.”

The plane was registered in Mexico. Police said it was on medical assignment.

It was the second fatal crash in 15 months for Jet Rescue. In 2023, five crew members were killed when their plane overran a runway in the central Mexican state of Morelos and crashed into a hillside.

The Philadelphia crash happened less than 3 miles (4.8km) from Northeast Philadelphia airport, which primarily serves business jets and charter flights. It came two days after a commercial airliner collided with a military helicopter near Reagan Washington National airport outside of Washington DC, killing all 67 aboard both aircraft.

Photos taken at the Jet Rescue crash site appear to show homes on fire. Fire officials confirmed that multiple structures were on fire following the crash around 6pm ET in the area of Cottman Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard.

Adam Thiel, Philadelphia’s managing director, said during a press conference on Saturday that the crash scene was a very large area with a lot of damage and authorities were working to assess the damage.

It is “entirely possible” that there will be changes to the casualty figures being reported thus far, Thiel said. He added that there were “a lot of unknowns” as to who was where on the streets of the neighborhood when the plane crashed.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released a statement about 6.40pm confirming the crashed plane was a Learjet 55 and had initially said two people were onboard. The agency later changed that assessment to confirm that six people had been onboard. Sean Duffy, the US secretary of transportation, also said there were at least six people onboard.

The FAA statement said the plane had been en route to Springfield-Branson National airport in Missouri. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board would investigate, it said.

Flight data showed a small jet taking off from the airport at 6.06pm and disappearing from radar about 30 seconds later after climbing to an altitude of 1,600ft (487 meters). It was unclear what led to the crash.

The plane was a medical transport jet and was registered to a company operating as Med Jets.

State and local officials said late on Friday they could not yet confirm how many people might have died on the ground after the plane slammed into a heavily populated portion of the city. Injuries had been reported, police said.

Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, told a press conference at the crash scene that “we know there will be loss in this region”.

“We want to offer our thoughts and our serious prayers for those that are grieving at this moment,” he said.

Donald Trump, the US president, wrote on social media that it was “so sad to see the plane go down in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More innocent souls lost. Our people are totally engaged. First responders are already being given credit for doing a great job.”

Shapiro posted on social media that he was in communication with the mayor and emergency responders. “We are offering all commonwealth resources as they respond to the small private plane crash in Northeast Philly,” he wrote.

Videos posted on social media showed a bright streak as the plane plunged at a steep angle towards the ground, then a large explosion with a ball of flame and smoke rising from the crash site.

Michael Schiavone, 37, was sitting at his home in Mayfair on Friday when he heard a loud bang and his house shook. He said it felt like a small earthquake and when he checked his home security camera footage, it looked like a missile was coming down. “There was a large explosion, so I thought we were under attack for a second,” he said.

The plane crashed in a busy intersection near Roosevelt Mall, an outdoor shopping center where, afterwards, first responders blocked traffic and onlookers crowded onto a street corner in the residential neighborhood of Rhawnhurst. Philadelphia’s emergency management office said roads had been closed in the area.

One cellphone video taken by a witness moments after the plane crashed showed a chaotic scene with debris scattered across the intersection. A wall of orange glowed just beyond the intersection as a plume of black smoke quickly rose into the sky, while some witnesses could be heard crying and sirens blared.

Jet Rescue, according to its website, is a licensed and insured company that has more than 20 years of experience providing critical care air ambulance services from Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean to the US and Canada.

Friday’s incident took place a mere two days after the US suffered its deadliest air disaster in a generation. An American Airlines jet, carrying 60 passengers and four crew members, suffered a midair collision with an army helicopter, carrying three crew members, in Washington DC on Wednesday night. Nobody survived.