A 31-year-old woman killed in a devastating plane crash at Southend Airport was on her first day at work as a flight nurse.

Maria Fernanda Rojaz Ortiz died alongside a Dutch pilot and co-pilot when the Beech B200 Super King Air aircraft crashed and exploded at the airport.

BBC News reports that the fourth victim who perished in the crash has not yet been publicly identified.

Ortiz, who previously worked in the public health sector, had only recently joined the air ambulance company.

Her friend, Anna Smith, shared that Ortiz was “the kindest soul,” describing her as humble, compassionate, and deeply committed to her profession.

“She had a giving heart and chose a career that truly reflected that,” Smith said. “She was so excited for this new job, it was her first day.”

Ortiz had gotten married in February 2024 and was reportedly looking forward to building a new chapter in her life.

Friends have since launched a GoFundMe campaign to help repatriate her remains to Chile, where she will be laid to rest beside her late father.

“She was just lovely. She was outgoing. She was fun. She wanted so much more with her life,” Smith added. “Everyone is just struggling at the moment. We can’t believe this is real.”

According to The Independent, the small plane crashed shortly after take-off at Southend Airport, causing a huge fireball.

Chilling images shared on social media showed the wreckage of the ill-fated aircraft consumed in a cloud of black smoke.

The aircraft, operated by Dutch firm Zeusch Aviation, which specialises in medical evacuation flights, had flown from Athens, Greece, to Pula, Croatia, before heading toward Southend.

According to Flightradar, the plane took off from Southend Airport at 3.48 pm and was bound for Lelystad, Netherlands.

Zeusch Aviation has confirmed that it is cooperating fully with authorities in the ongoing investigation.

As of the time of filing this report, the cause of the crash had not been officially determined.

In an unrelated story, Boeing has compensated the Canada-based Kenyan man who lost five family members in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash.

Paul Njoroge's life was shattered when he lost his entire family in the crash, which shook the world and cast Boeing into a PR crisis.

During the service held to commemorate the deceased, the middle-aged man declined to bury the soil collected from Bishoftu, 60 kilometres south of Addis Ababa, citing religious beliefs.

Source: TUKO.co.ke