A Mexican news presenter has died in a plane crash while taking her first flying lesson.
Debora Estrella, 43, and pilot Bryan Ballesteros were both killed on Saturday when the two-seater Cessna they were in plummeted to the ground by an industrial estate in the city of Garcia, in Nuevo Leon, north east Mexico.
Shortly before the accident Debora had posted a photo on Instagram stories of the plane before it took off from Monterrey-Del Norte International Airport, with the words ‘Guess what’.
Unverified footage online reportedly shows the small plane spiralling out of control and coming down.
Meanwhile, Garcia’s mayor Manuel Guerra Cavazos posted on social media from the scene of the wreckage, writing: ‘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 not long after it happened when he was still unaware his former wife was one of the two victims.
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He wrote: ‘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.’
Debora had presented a morning news programme from the northern Mexican city of Monterrey for more than five years.
Her colleague Maria Julia Lafuente spoke on their TV station yesterday, telling 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 fullest, 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 told close friends at a birthday party she was about to begin flying classes in the hope of getting her pilot’s licence.
A tearful Maria Julia said: ‘We were chatting and she told me: “I am starting to learn how to fly. One day we can fly together.”‘
The pilot, Bryan Ballesteros, who had previously worked as a commercial airline pilot for Viva Aerobus, is understood to have been the one flying the Cessna when it came down.
A former student of his, 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.’
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