85 Injured in Plane Crash in Mexico, No Fatalities: Authorities

The Durango state health ministry spokesman said two of the people injured in the crash are in a critical condition.

Rescue workers and firefighters seen at the site where an Aeromexico airliner suffered an “accident” in a field near the airport of Durango, Mexico, on 31 July.

(Photo: Civil Defense Office of Durango/AP)

Video Producer: Debayan Dutta

Video Editor: Abhishek Sharma

About 85 people were injured on Tuesday, 31 July, some seriously, when an Aeromexico-operated Embraer passenger jet crashed just after takeoff in Mexico's state of Durango, but authorities said there were no fatalities.

The Durango state health ministry spokesperson said two of the people injured in the crash are in a critical condition.

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

The mid-sized jet was almost full, with 97 passengers and four crew members aboard, when it came down around 4 pm local time, 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 emerging from scrubland and a column of smoke rising into the sky.

The plane made an emergency landing about 10 km from the airport shortly after taking off, Alejandro Cardoza, a spokesman for the state's civil protection agency, said on local television.

Cardoza said in an interview that around 85 people had been injured, adding that a fire resulting from the accident had been put out and there were no reports of burn victims. "Many managed to leave the plane on foot," he said.

The Mexican airline said on Twitter that flight number 2431 was an Embraer 190 and was bound for Mexico City when it crashed.

Embraer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto wrote on Twitter that he had instructed the ministries of defence, civil protection and transportation to respond to the crash.