Mexico Plane Crashes with 103 People aboard, All Survived

Local Editor

An Aeromexico airliner carrying 103 people from the Mexican city of Durango to the country’s capital has crashed soon after takeoff, but all passengers and crew survived the accident, according to Mexican officials.

Eighty-five people were injured – some seriously – but José Rosas Aispuro, the governor of Durango state, said there were no fatalities among the 97 adults, two children and four crew members on board.

“During the first inspection [of the plane wreckage] no bodies were found,” the governor added in an interview with Mexico’s El Financiero. “We hope, God willing that there’s no one there, no bodies.”

A spokesman for the Durango state health ministry said two of the victims were in critical condition.

Aispuro later said at a press conference that information he had received suggested that “after the plane had taken off, suddenly it was hit by a gust of wind that made it go down briskly and touch the ground with its left wing, detaching its two engines.

“The aircraft was projected off of the runway … and fell approximately 300 meters [away].”

That version of events – which he called a “lamentable accident” – would be confirmed by an investigation by the competent authorities, he added.

Aeromexico flight 2431 was carrying 97 passengers and four crew, according to Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, Mexico’s secretary of communication and transport.

The plane – an Embraer 190 – landed in a field near the state capital’s airport at about 4pm.

“The plane was taking off,” Aispuro told Mexican television, adding that witnesses told him there was “a bang” and then without warning the plane was on the ground.

In a statement, Aeromexico said: “At the moment we have no reports of any casualties ... We deeply regret this accident.”

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team