Mexico Plane Crashes Near Chichen Itza, 19 Dead

A light plane crashed near the Mexican tourist resort of Chichen Itza in the southern Mexican state of Yucatan on Wednesday, killing all 19 people on board, including 17 US passengers, civil aviation authorities said.

"We know an airplane carrying 17 people, all American and two crew, crashed," said a spokesman for the Mexican charter company Aeroferinco which owned the plane.

Pedro Gomez de la Rosa, inspector at Chichen Itza airport, said everyone on board died. A statement from the transport ministry confirmed this.

The plane went down at 4.25 pm (1725 EST, 2125 GMT), 4.4 miles (7 km) northeast of the airport at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, a statement from the transport ministry said.

Media reports had said the plane crashed shortly after 7 p.m.

"During the ascent it appears the plane lost contact with the control tower of Chichen Itza Airport," the statement said. "A search began and the plane was found totally destroyed," it added.

The transport ministry ruled out foul play from preliminary reports on the crash.

The plane was headed for the Caribbean island of Cozumel from Chichen Itza, a popular tourist destination in sweltering Yucatan.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash and the identities of the passengers and crew were not known.

(chinadaily.com.cn 09/13/2001)