Small plane crash in Mexico kills all 13 on board

MEXICO CITY, A private airplane crashed in a remote mountainous area in northern Mexico over the weekend, killing all the 13 people on board, authorities said on Monday.

Authorities located on Monday the remains of the small jet in the northern state of Coahuila and later confirmed the death toll. Local media reported first that there were 14 people on board.

Authorities had been searching for the plane “Challenger 601” since communication was lost on Sunday afternoon, as the aircraft was passing through Coahuila on the way to the northern Mexican city of Monterrey from the U.S. city of Las Vegas.

Francisco Martinez, deputy secretary of Coahuila’s civil protection, said in a televised interview that authorities had located the lost aircraft around 305 km to the northwest of the city of Monclova and that rescue brigades had been mobilized to search for the victims.

Local media said the passengers were returning from a weekend trip that included watching a boxing match between Mexican boxer Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and U.S. fighter Daniel Jacobs.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.