Cargo plane crashes in Mexico’s northeastern city of Monterrey, at least 4 crew members dead

Cargo plane crashes in Mexico, 4 crew dead

MEXICO CITY — A cargo plane crashed while trying to land overnight in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey, killing at least four crew members, authorities said Wednesday. A fifth crew member was missing and presumed dead.

Rescue workers pulled four bodies from the smoldering wreckage just outside the international airport serving Mexico’s third largest city, said Jorge Camacho, director of civil protection in Nuevo Leon state, where Monterrey is located.

Camacho said rescuers were still searching for a fifth crew member, who was presumed dead.

They also suspected a sports utility vehicle may have been crushed under the plane, but could not immediately identify any vehicle in the wreckage, he said.

The Airbus A300 was trying to land in rainy and cloudy conditions when it crashed on a road leading to the airport. The plane, belonging to Mexico City-based Aerotransporte de Carga Union, had taken off from Mexico City on Tuesday night.

Firefighters at the scene said the plane caught fire after the crash, but the blaze was put out.

Charred and smoking wreckage was spread around a radius of at least 50 meters (164 feet). The nose of the plane and both wings had been torn away from the fusilage and lay in the middle of the two-lane road.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the accident.