Passenger plane carrying 97 people crashes in Mexico

A passenger plane carrying 97 passengers and four crew members crashed on take-off during a heavy hailstorm in Northern Mexico, engulfing the plane in flames and leaving around 85 people injured, officials said on Wednesday.

“It is confirmed that there have been no deaths from the flight #AM2431 accident,” tweeted Jose Rosas, the governor of Durango, where the crash happened.

A “strange movement” was cited by the passengers on take-off and “that was when the accident happened,” Rosas told the Milenio television channel.

Dozens of injured passengers left the plane, which was engulfed in gray smoke.

“Approximately 85 people are injured,” Durango’s civil defense spokesman Alejandro Cardoza told Milenio.

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The airliner tried to take-off during hail storm but was forced to an emergency landing in a field around 10 kilometre away from the Durango airport.

“The fire started after the emergency landing” but “fortunately no one suffered burns,” said Cardoza, adding that there had been “some serious injuries” but that most people sustained “very minor... knocks.”

The plane carrying 97 passengers and four members heading to capital Mexico City from Durango “crashed on take-off” around 4:00 pm (21:00 GMT), Transport Minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza said.

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The army, emergency services and the Red Cross were on the scene as the first images of the crash site, which was shared on social and Mexican media, showed the place immersed in flames.

Aeromexico, the airliner that operated the flight, said it was “working to verify the information and gather details.” “I pray that the crew and all the passengers are OK,” said Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto.

(With inputs from PTI)