News Host Dies In Plane Crash

A news anchor died tragically on Saturday when the small plane on which she was taking her first flying lesson lost control and crashed into an industrial area in Mexico.

Debora Estrella, 43, and her instructor, Bryan Ballesteros, were killed when the two-person Cessna used for her daytime lesson experienced catastrophic failure and crashed into an industrial site in the city of Garcia, inside the northeastern state of Nuevo Leon.

The famous Mexican newsreader had just posted beaming pictures of her first flying lesson on social media before taking off. Footage obtained by the Daily Mail shows a small plane spiraling out of control as it hurtles toward the ground. Above, a helicopter circled as the pilot pondered what he could do to prevent the crash.

Estrella and Ballesteros had taken off from Monterrey-Del Norte International Airport. She captioned her last photo “Guess what.”

Manuel Guerra Cavazos, Garcia’s mayor, posted a photo from the site of the plane crash on his social media page, 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.”

Jose Luis Garcia, Estrella’s ex-husband and another newscaster, confirmed her death as well.

“A plane has come down,” he said in a live newscast. “Civil Protection in Nuevo Leon confirmed two people have died in the accident close to the Ciudad Mitras Industrial Estate in Garcia.”

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Other Mexican journalists paid their respects to Estrella on social media.

TV Azteca anchor Jorge Zarza wrote, “Debora Estrella leaves a void in Television. Lawyer and news anchor. Always enthusiastic. Disciplined and with a regal posture. We shared bread and salt, conversation and the screen. I will miss you. Rest in Peace.”

Her station, Telediaro, also said, “We will never forget that smile that characterized Débora Estrella, an intelligent, irreverent, dreamy, cheerful woman, but above all, willing to do what she knew best: inform from the heart.

“Her essence will always accompany us when we turn on the lights of this studio.”

Maria Julia Lafuente, a colleague of horse lover Estrella, told Monterrey viewers on Sunday, “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 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.”