Mexico: A hundred passengers survive a crash on takeoff

About one hundred passengers on an Aeromexico flight survived the plane’s take-off crash in northern Mexico on Tuesday, but most had to be hospitalized for injuries, two of them in serious condition.

The Embraer 190 aircraft, which was operating between Durango in Durango State and Mexico City, crashed around 15:30 local time with 99 passengers on board – including 11 children – and 4 crew members, while it was taking off in the middle of a storm.

A gust of wind have “pulled the plane down to the ground” with one wing allegedly touching the runway, according to state governor Jose Aispuro.

The engines would then have been torn off and the aircraft slipped 300 meters through a field, where it finally stopped before igniting.

The activation of the toboggans allowed the evacuation of the passengers before the beginning of the fire.

The images of the civil protection broadcast by the media show an airplane amidst the grass, the damaged cabin, partially consumed by the flames.

“There is no dead person,” said Jose Aispuro. The accident, however, caused two serious injuries, including the pilot, who had to be operated on the spine.

A little girl also suffers burns on 25% of the body, he told reporters. In total, 97 people were admitted to hospitals in the city but the majority for “very light” injuries, according to the spokesman of the local civil protection, Alejandro Cardoza, and some have already been able to return to their homes.

According to him, the plane was caught in a heavy hailstorm and the pilots tried to make a forced landing. “The fire broke out after the crash landing,” he said. An image taken using a drone and obtained by AFP shows the aircraft immobilized in a field at the end of the runway.

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