( CNN ) -- Four Americans were killed in a small plane crash in northwestern Mexico , the president of the volunteer organization Flying Samaritans said Saturday . The plane had been headed on a medical mission in the Mexican state of Baja California and lost radio contact with the ground on Friday afternoon , said Flying Samaritans President Victor Jones . The wreckage of a Beechcraft A36 plane and the bodies of the four volunteers were discovered Saturday `` after an extensive ground , air and water search , '' Jones said in a statement Saturday . The wreckage was located in rough terrain about 30 miles south of Ensenada , Mexico -- a city on the Pacific coast -- where the plane had departed Friday afternoon en route to San Quintin , Mexico . Jones said that Mexican authorities found four bodies in the wreckage . Radio contact with the plane was lost shortly after the pilot reported to the Ensenada airport on Friday when it was about 10 miles south of the airport , Jones said . He identified the victims as : James Thornton , a plastic surgeon ; Graciela Sarmiento , a doctor ; Andrew Theil , a non-medical support staffer ; and Roger Lyon , the pilot . Flying Samaritans transports medical and support personnel to clinics in Baja California -- which is just south of California , the American state -- where they provide free medical services and supplies to those who lack medical care . CNN 's Chuck Johnston contributed to this report .
Radio contact with the plane was lost Friday afternoon . The search area is about 2,600 square miles and includes a swath of southern California from San Diego to Los Angeles. Wreckage and bodies are discovered in northwestern Mexico .