About 85 injured in Aeromexico plane crash but no fatalities

MEXICO CITY: As many as 85 people were injured on Tuesday, two critically, when an Aeromexico-operated Embraer passenger jet crashed soon after takeoff in Mexico’s state of Durango, but authorities said there were no fatalities.

The mid-sized jet was almost full, with 97 passengers and four crew members aboard, when it came down at around 4 p.m. local time (2100 GMT), Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, Mexico’s minister for communications and transportation, wrote on Twitter.

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

TV images showed the severely damaged body of the plane after it came to rest in scrubland and a column of smoke rose into the sky.

The plane made an emergency landing about six miles (10 km) from the airport, Alejandro Cardoza, a spokesman for the state’s civil protection agency, said on local television.

Other authorities said the crash was closer to the airport.

Cardoza said in an interview that around 85 people had been injured, adding that a fire resulting from the accident had been put out.

The civil protection agency said 37 people were hospitalised, while the state health department said two passengers were in a critical condition.

The operator of Durango airport, Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte, attributed the crash to bad weather conditions, citing preliminary reports.

Full story @ timesofoman.com/world