GUATEMALA CITY — A small plane carrying U.S. humanitarian workers crashed Sunday in a field in eastern Guatemala, killing 10 people, including five Americans, an aviation official and a survivor said.
The Cessna Caravan 208 crashed about 60 miles east of Guatemala City. The pilot called in engine trouble about 45 minutes after takeoff and tried to make an emergency landing, Civil Aviation director Jose Carlos said.
Eight passengers were killed, along with the Guatemalan pilot and co-pilot, Carlos said. He said five of the dead were Americans, but the nationalities of the three others had not been determined.
Four other Americans were being airlifted to a hospital in the capital. Sarah Jensen, a 19- year-old who survived with minor cuts and bruises, said she and her family were headed to a village in El Estor to build homes for CHOICE Humanitarian, a group based in West Jordan, Utah.
Her brother and father were killed in the crash, and her mother had serious burns and contusions. The family is from Amory, Wis., Jensen said in a brief interview at the hospital.
