The Mexican government Wednesday denied reports on the probability of intentional sabotage in a plane crash which killed at least 14 people, including Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mourino.
A designated team of eight experts from Mexico and the United States has found the black box of the crashed plane, Luis Tellez, minister of transport and communications, told reporters at a press conference.
"Preliminary evidence has shown that the tragedy was an accident," Tellez said when asked if it was an attack by criminal cartels.
He said that according to records in the black box, neither technical failures nor calls for emergency were reported to the ground control, adding that the flight altitude and route were stable all along the journey.
Due to insufficient data and information, the investigation into the cause of the accident could take several weeks, Tellez said.
President Felipe Calderon named Vice Interior Minister Abraham Gonzalez Uyeda to temporarily replace 37-year-old Mourino, the presidential office said earlier.
A small plane crashed Tuesday on one of Mexico City's busiest roads. Up to now, the death toll has risen to 14, said Miguel Angel Mancera, general prosecutor of justice in the Mexican capital.
Mancera told reporters that no survivor was found among all nine people aboard the Lear Jet plane. The victims also included the government's security advisor, Santiago Vasconcelos, who was a former vice general prosecutor in charge of organized crime.
Five other people were killed on land. Only one of them could be identified as the crash caused explosion and fire, leaving bodies of the victims impossible to recognize.
The Mexican army has taken control of the surrounding area. According to authorities, more than 40 people were injured and hospitalized.
More than 1,800 people have been evacuated from the crash site, which is now under military control.
The plane flew from the state of San Luis Potosi where Mourino signed a state agreement on legality, security and justice, aimed at strengthening civil protection and intensifying the nationwide battle against criminal cartels, said a spokesman for the Public Security Secretary.
Mourino was born in Madrid, Spain, and gained Mexican nationality at 18. He was considered one of Calderon's closest advisers. He took office on Jan. 16 and was seen as one of the government's tough guys when it came to implementing structural reforms, especially in the energy sector.
Mourino had also led a government campaign against mounting drug-related violence, and the government has reinforced the civil protection departments with 36,000 police-military officers in the past two years.
Drug and criminal cartels reacted to the campaign with a wave of violence, which has caused the death of some 4,000 so far this year. Some local media put the blame on Mourino and his ministry.
Rumors were spreading after the accident, saying Mourino might have died in a revenge attack by drug trafficking cartels.
Calderon urged the nation to overcome the grief and "not to allow any event, no matter how difficult or painful, to weaken us in the combat for a better Mexico," while reiterating the government's strong will to continue the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking.
(Xinhua News Agency November 6, 2008)
