Cargo plane crash kills 9 in Mexico

updated 9:09 p.m. ET July 5, 2007

MEXICO CITY - A small cargo jet failed to take off and barreled onto an adjacent highway, killing at least nine people, including two soldiers assigned to the Mexican president's security detail.

The plane blew a tire and slid off the runway at the airport in the western coastal city of Culiacan, the federal Communications and Transportation Department said in a news release.

The crash happened shortly before President Felipe Calderon was scheduled to arrive for a daylong visit, killing two members of his security detail who were patrolling the highway in an army vehicle, the president's office confirmed.

Also killed were three people on board the aircraft and a family of four, including a child, whose car was engulfed in a trail of fire left by the jet, said Mario Millan, spokesman for the Sinaloa state public safety department.

The jet, belonging to Mexican shipping company Jett Paqueteria SA, came to a stop after hitting a building, Millan said.

Calderon was en route to Culiacan at the time of the crash and was turned back, his office said.

MORE FROM AMERICAS

Americas Section Front

Peru quits summit over alleged espionage Venezuela's Chavez: Do sit-ups, eat well Can baseball bring U.S. and Cuba together? Drug lord makes Forbes list of ‘most powerful’ Huge Andes lake is drying up Mexican business groups call for U.N. troops Brazil: Big drop in Amazon deforestation Americas Section Front   Add Americas headlines to your news reader: