A famous Mexican TV broadcaster has died in a horror plane crash - moments after posting a photo of the light aircraft she lost her life in as she prepared to take a flying class.
Newsreader Debora Estrella, 43, and pilot Bryan Ballesteros were killed when the two-seater Cessna she was learning to fly incrashed to the ground by an industrial estate in the city of Garcia in the north-eastern state of Nuevo Leon.
Unverified footage on social media purporting to show Saturday evening’s tragedy showed a small plane spiralling out of control and coming down - with a helicopter above it diverting as its pilot tried to see if there was anything he could do to help.
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Moments before the accident Debora posted a photo of the plane she went up in on her Instagram Live stories and wrote: “Guess what” before getting into it for take-off from Monterrey-Del Norte International Airport.
Garcia’s mayor Manuel Guerra Cavazos, posting on social media from the spot where the plane came down, told followers on social media: “I regret to inform you that I am at the scene.
“It has been confirmed that a light aircraft has crashed and two people have died, apparently a man and a woman, inside the runway and near to the Pesqueria River at the Mitras Industrial Estate.”
Debora’s ex husband Jose Luis Garcia, also a journalist, posted about the accident on his social media shortly afterwards when he was still unaware his former wife was one of the two victims, writing: “A plane has come down.
“Civil Protection in Nuevo Leon confirmed two people have died in the accident close to the Ciudad Mitras Industrial Estate in Garcia. The plane was filmed crashing beside the river by locals.”
Colleague Maria Julia Lafuente, a colleague of horse lover Debora who had presented a morning news programme from the northern Mexican city of Monterrey for more than five years, went on their TV station yesterday to tell viewers: “How can I say, good morning, happy Sunday, when our hearts and souls are broken.
“There are things that cannot be explained. And if you to try to find an explanation, it will only cause you distress and deep sadness, because there is no single reason why Debora Estrella is no longer here with us. Only God knows the reason for things.”
She added: “Having to start the morning news programme without her, without seeing that smile. This studio is going to feel enormously empty. Debora was a woman who lived life to the lived life to the full, who never held anything back, who always gave her all and brought the passion needed for this job. If there is one thing we can all learn from her, it is to live life to the fullest, do what you love most and not waste a single moment, because today more than ever it is clear that every minute counts.”
Maria Julia and other colleagues paying tribute to Debora went on to reveal that a day before the crash, she had confessed to close friends at a birthday party she was about to begin flying classes to try to obtain her pilot’s licence.
The tearful ex-colleague of the pretty brunette, said: “We were chatting and she told me: ‘I am starting to learn how to fly. One day we can fly together.”
Mr Ballesteros who also died had previously worked as a commercial airline pilot for Viva Aerobus. He is understood to have been flying the Cessna when it came down.
Monterrey-based former student Miguel Briones said in a Facebook tribute: “Rest in peace pilot Bryan Ballesteros. I thank you for your teachings and your willingness to help me learn how to fly. Sending a big hug to you in the sky.”
