Mexican officials: Airliner crashed after takeoff, no deaths

MEXICO CITY (AP) - An Aeromexico airliner crashed after taking off in the northern state of Durango on Tuesday, but the state's governor said there were no deaths in the accident.

The civil defense office of Durango state said the plane came down in a field near the airport for the state capital, also named Durango.

The office published photos of a burning but seemingly relatively intact plane lying on its belly in a field. Ambulances lined up at the accident site to ferry the injured to local hospitals.

Durango Gov. Jose Aispuro wrote in his Twitter account that "it is confirmed there were no fatalities in the accident."

Gerardo Ruiz Eparza, head of Mexico's Transport Department, said that "the plane fell upon takeoff." He said there were 97 passengers and four crew members aboard.

His office said in a press statement that the airplane "suffered an accident moments after takeoff," but gave no information on the possible cause.

Aeromexico said the incident involved an Embraer 190 plane with a capacity of 100 passengers on a flight from Durango to Mexico City.

The web site Planespotters.net said the Brazilian-made medium-range jet was about 10 years old and had seen service with two other airlines before joining the Aeromexico fleet.