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. Grand Bahama is about 70 miles east of Florida.
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."
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 plane crashed in a section of the Freeport shipyard, leaving mangled body parts strewn across the scene amid heavy smells of jet fuel and hot metal, the Bahama Press reports.
The Bahamas Tribune newspaper reported that Munroe, 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.
Perry Christie, the prime minister of the Bahamas, said in a statement late Sunday that it is “utterly impossible to measure the magnitude of Dr. Munroe's loss to The Bahamas and to the world.”
"He was indisputably one of the most globally recognizable religious figures our nation has ever produced," Christie added.
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.
Meanwhile, thousands of visibly-shaken people gathered in Nassau at the Diplomat Center of the Bahamas Faith Ministries International -- an organization which Munroe is a senior pastor for -- the Bahama Press reports.
Munroe is a best-selling author and lecturer, and has traveled around the world advising leaders in business, education, religion and other fields, according to his biography on the Bahamas Faith Ministries International website.
Munroe and his wife have two children.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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