At least 85 injured after Aeromexico plane crashes in northwest Mexico

• Around 85 people are injured after an Embraer E190 aircraft from Mexican airline Aeromexico crashed in a field.
• Two of them are in critical condition.
• The aircraft was transporting 97 passengers and four crewmembers.
• Mexican officials say there were no immediate reports of fatalities.
• Officials and witnesses say the aircraft was trying to take off during a storm.

Around 85 people are injured after an Embraer E190 aircraft crashed into a field in northwest Mexico at around 4:00 p.m. local time.

The plane was carrying 97 passengers and four crewmembers from the city of Durango to Mexico City when it crashed, Mexican officials said. Officials accounted for all of the passengers and reported no fatalities at this time.

Two people, including the pilot, are critically injured, according to the BBC.

“The most seriously injured is the pilot,” one official told Foro TV, according to the Associated Press. “The majority of passengers left [the plane] under their own power.”

Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte, the operator of the General Guadalupe Victoria International Airport in Durango, said the crash may have been due to poor weather conditions, Reuters reported.

Passengers said they heard a “bang” moments before the plane’s left wing hit the ground and tore both of its engines loose.

Officials and witnesses also said the plane was trying to take off during a storm.

Durango state Gov. Jose Aispuro noted that the plane hit a gust of wind as it lifted off the tarmac, forcing the pilot to abort the procedure. Aispuro added that it was still too early to determine the exact cause of the crash, the Associated Press reported.

“The most important thing in the seriousness that is an accident of this nature is that there were no deaths – that’s what is most encouraging for us,” Aispuro said.

The Embraer E190 is considered to be a short-range aircraft with an exceptional safety record, according to aviation analyst Alex Macheras.

The plane managed to land upright and deployed its escape slides, but due to the flames and smoke, some of the passengers were forced to escape using a hole from the aircraft’s fuselage.

“A little girl who left the plane was crying because her legs were burned,” passenger Jackeline Flores said to Reuters. “I feel blessed and grateful to God.”

Photos from the Durango’s State Coordination of Civil Protection show emergency crews attending to a fire:

Other photos and video footage from the scene show what appears to be the aircraft with tail number XA-GAL: