Source: Xinhua Author: 12/21/2008
Subject Concerned: Government Plane Crash
A small plane crashed in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila over the weekend, killing two government officials and injuring three others, the state authorities said in a statement on Dec. 21.
The plane's engine lost power just as the aircraft was about to land in Ramos Arizpe, Coahuila state, and the plane hit high-voltage wires before crashing and catching fire, the statement said.
Rescue teams immediately sent the five people onboard to hospitals, but Emilio Bichara Marcos, the Coahuila water commission director, and his secretary Rafael Reyes died on Dec. 21.
Two reporters and the pilot were still under medical care.
It was at least the fourth plane to crash this year with government officials aboard. In November, the interior minister and 15 other people died when their jet crashed in Mexico City.