Preacher Munroe, wife, others die in plane crash

Preacher Munroe, wife, others die in plane crash

ALear 36 Executive Jet conveying renowned preacher and motivational speaker, Myles Munroe, and his wife, Ruth, crashed on Sunday night in his Caribbean country, The Bahamas.
The couple and seven others on board the plane died in the accident, according to agency reports.
The government of The Bahamas said the plane crashed while approaching the island of Grand Bahama.
The plane took-off from the Bahamian capital of Nassau and crashed while attempting to land in Freeport, a statement from the Ministry of Transport and Aviation stated.
The country’s Prime Minister, Perry Christie, said Munroe, who was the founder of Bahamas Faith Ministries, was travelling to Grand Bahama to attend the 2014 Global Leadership Forum.
“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 recognisable religious figures our nation has ever produced”, the prime minister said.
Christie added that the names of other passengers had not yet been confirmed, but the government said they included another minister, Richard Pinder, and a child.
Police Chief Clarence Reckley said he could not confirm the report and that authorities were still trying to determine the identities of the victims.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined though there had been heavy rain across the region.
Police and fire authorities were at the crash scene yesterday, as it was learnt that an investigation into the accident has begun.
Munroe, 60, wrote or co-wrote more than 100 motivational books focused on strengthening the role of men in Christian life. He and his wife had two children
The ministry said the conference he was due to attend would go on, although in a shortened form, despite the tragedy because “this is what Dr. Munroe would have wanted.”
Oral Roberts University, the private evangelical college in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where Munroe attended seminary, named him its outstanding alumnus in 2004.
The school, in a statement Sunday night, said it was “heartbroken over the loss.”
The university’s president, Billy Wilson, said: “His work in extending Christ’s Kingdom in our generation was exemplary and world changing”.
Also, a former United States (U.S.) Ambassador to the United Nations, Andrew Young, who often joined Munroe at Christian forums and gatherings, also mourned him.
Kelley Jackson, a spokeswoman for Young, said: “Ambassador Young expresses his deep sadness over the tragic death of his friends, Dr. Myles and Mrs. Ruth Munroe.
“He offers condolences to the Munroe family and the families of the other souls, who lost their lives as a result of this shocking plane crash.”
Munroe was the president and founder of the Bahamas Faith Ministries International (BFMI) and Myles Munroe International (MMI), a Christian centre that includes leadership training institutes, a publishing company, a television network and a church community.
He was also chief executive officer and chairman of the board of the International Third World Leaders Association and president of the International Leadership Training Institute.