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01st Aug 2018

All 103 passengers survive Mexico plane crash

The plane nose-dived seconds after takeoff in a hailstorm.

Kyle Picknell

A plane with 103 people on board crashed on Tuesday afternoon seconds after takeoff

The Aeromexico passenger flight, travelling from Guadalupe Victoria International Airport in Durango to Mexico City, crashed at around 16:00 local time (21:00 GMT) due to adverse weather conditions.

State Governor José Rosas Aispuro has stated the cause of the accident is believed to be a gust of wind that hit the aircraft and causing it to lose speed and begin a sudden descent. The left wing then hit the ground, before both engines came loose.

Officials and witnesses have reported that the plane attempted to take off during a storm, with some describing hail the size of marbles.

The plane reportedly made it off the ground but fell nose first into the runway just a few hundred yards from the end.

Passengers were able to jump from the plane and escape before it caught fire.

Passenger Jacqueline Flores described the incident to AFP News Agency:

“When we were already aloft, up high, it felt like the plane was going to level out but just then it plunged to the ground.

“I think we fell back on the runway because it was a hard surface, then we skidded on the ground until it stopped.

“I undid my seatbelt and saw flames, and realised we had to jump. There was a hole right next to us where the plane had broken up. I told my girl, ‘We have to jump over here’, and we jumped,” she explained.

One of the plane’s pilots was seriously injured in the crash and is currently being treated in hospital after an emergency operation on his spine. A young girl has been treated for burns.