A Mexican navy plane carrying burn patients to a Texas hospital in the United States crashed Monday in the waters of Galveston Bay, killing at least five people, officials said.

Mexico's Navy said eight people were on board the twin-turboprop aircraft, including four navy officers and four civilians, one of them a child.

The plane was transporting burn patients to Shriners Children's Hospital in Galveston.

Cause of the crash under investigation

The aircraft, a King Air ANX-1209, departed from Merida in Mexico's Yucatan state and was headed to Galveston Scholes International Airport.

The flight was part of a medical mission coordinated with the Michou and Mau Foundation, which arranges emergency transport for children with life-threatening burns to the hospital.

Authorities said the crash happened as the plane was approaching Galveston. The cause remains under investigation. Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been deployed to the scene.

The Galveston County Sheriff's Office said its dive team, crime scene unit, drone unit and patrol officers were also assisting at the site.

Edited by: Darko Janjevic