Cuba to probe Mexican plane crash

HAVANA: Cuba on Friday pledged an investigation into a plane crash that was believed to have killed about 100 people.

“It is a deplorable aviation accident and we need to wait, because the news is not good,” President Miguel Diazcanel said after inspecting the smoking wreck of the Mexican-operated Boeing 737 passenger plane that crashed near Havana airport.

The government newspaper Granma said there were three survivors and gave the total number of people on board as 105, including five children. Most of the passengers were Cubans, said Granma. Five foreigners and the Mexican crew were also on board, it added.

Three women and a man were rescued alive, but the man died, said Granma. The women were in critical condition.

Mexico offered Cuba technical assistance in investigating the causes.

The aircraft operated by Mexican carrier Damojh crashed in a field shortly after take-off, Cuba’s official news agency Prensa Latina reported.

It was on a charter flight from Havana to the eastern city of Holguín.

The airline underwent checks to ensure it was fit to operate in November, said Mexican aviation authorities. Damojh only had a fleet of three aircraft.

The plane had been hired to cover the route by Cuba’s national airline Cubana de Aviacion, which established a hotline for family members of the victims. The Mexican embassy created a hotline for Mexican victims. – dpa/african News Agency (ANA)