FREEPORT,
Grand Bahama – The ministry of a prominent evangelist from the Bahamas
will continue despite the death of founder Myles Munroe in a small
airplane crash on Sunday, his close advisers said.
Munroe — a
well-known pastor, motivational speaker and evangelist — was one of nine
aboard the Lear 36 Executive Jet when it went down as it attempted to
land in Freeport Sunday evening, officials said. All those aboard were
killed.
Police and fire authorities are on scene and a full
investigation is ongoing Monday. The cause of the crash has not yet been
determined though there had been heavy rain across the region.
The
crash occurred as Munroe and others were gathering in Grand Bahama for
the 2014 Global Leadership Forum. On the Facebook page of Munroe's
ministry, a message stated that the forum will go on as scheduled.
"We
would like to inform you that the Global Leadership Forum will
continue," read the post. "This is what Dr. Munroe would have wanted.
Please keep his family and the ministry in prayers."
"It is utterly impossible to measure the magnitude of Dr. Munroe's loss to The Bahamas and to the world."
- Prime Minister Perry Christie
The
plane had taken off from the Bahamian capital of Nassau and crashed
while attempting to land around 5 p.m. local time in Freeport, according
to a statement from the Ministry of Transport and Aviation.
"The
Department of Civil Aviation has been advised unofficially that the
aircraft was destroyed and that there were no survivors," the ministry
said.
The Bahamas Tribune newspaper reported that Munroe, a
prominent Bahamian minister who organized the event, was killed along
with several people in his entourage.
Chief Supt. Clarence
Reckley said he could not confirm the report and that authorities were
still trying to determine the identities of the victims.
Grand Bahama is about 70 miles east of Florida.
"It
is utterly impossible to measure the magnitude of Dr. Munroe's loss to
The Bahamas and to the world," Prime Minister Perry Christie said. "He
was indisputably one of the most globally recognizable religious figures
our nation has ever produced."
Munroe's wife, Ruth was also on
the plane, Christie said. The names of other passengers have not yet
been confirmed, but the government said they included another minister,
Richard Pinder, and a child.
