A popular musician and former politician from Central America tragically passed away in a plane crash this week.

Aurelio Martinez was among at least a dozen individuals who were reported dead after the aircraft they were traveling on crashed shortly after takeoff from an island in Honduras, the U.K. Sun reported.

The deadly accident has been treated as a national emergency by the Honduran president, who quickly scrambled multiple relevant government agencies to rapidly respond to the rescue and recovery operation.

Fatal plane crash in Honduras

CBS News reported that a British-made Jetstream 41, a small turboprop commuter plane operated by Honduran Lanhsa Airlines, had just taken off from the airport at the popular tourist destination of Roatan for a brief flight to the port city of La Ceiba on the Honduran mainland when it suffered an unspecified mechanical failure and plunged into the waters below.

Of the 17 people on board, including two pilots and one crew member, at least 12 were killed in the crash, while five were rescued by first responders who braved a steep rocky shoreline and murky waters to accomplish that feat.

Among those declared dead was Martinez, a prominent member of the Garifuna peoples, the descendants of exiled former African slaves who interbred with indigenous natives in the Caribbean, who was also a hugely popular musician in the region and had served for a few years in the Honduran Congress.

A nephew of Martinez told the media that the family was "devastated" by the loss of its "pillar," and he added that his uncle "was the greatest model from Honduras of Garifuna music on a worldwide stage."

Beloved musician who briefly entered politics

Rolling Stone reported that Martinez was born and raised in the impoverished Honduran village of Plaplaya, where he exhibited an affinity for performing music at a young age and struck out on his own as a musician as a teenager.

Martinez played with a handful of different bands before he eventually formed his own group, Lita Ariran, which focused on creating original Garifuna folk music, though he later also launched a solo career.

Made famous by his music throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Martinez entered the realm of politics and became the first Honduran of African descent to be elected to that nation's congress in 2005. Just a few years later, in 2008, however, he left politics and returned to music following the unexpected death of his close friend and former collaborator from Belize, fellow Garifuna artist Andy Palacio.

Record label mourns tragic loss

The death of Martinez was confirmed by the label that signed him, Real World Records, which stated, "Aurelio was more than just a musician -- he was a statesman, a spokesperson, and vital saviour of the culture of the Garifuna people of Honduras."

The label added, "His loss will be felt beyond the Garifuna people to audiences worldwide who love and cherish Caribbean culture."

Also speaking out about Martinez's death was famed musician Peter Gabriel, the founder of Real World Records, who said in an Instagram post, "I was very upset to learn of the death yesterday of Aurelio Martinez, one of our most popular @realworldrec artists, in a plane crash in the Caribbean."

"His music will, I am sure, live on with all its artistry, sensitivity, and musicianship," Gabriel added. "The deep love he had for his own Garifuna people will always be remembered, but it is most of all his own generosity and warmth that will be badly missed by all of us who loved him at Real World" and elsewhere.