MEXICO CITY: As many as 85 people were injured on Tuesday, two critically, when an Aeromexico-operated Embraer passenger jet crashed soon after takeoff in Mexico's state of Durango, but authorities said there were no fatalities.

The mid-sized jet was almost full, with 97 passengers and four crew members aboard, when it came down at around 4 p.m. local time (2100 GMT), Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, Mexico's minister for communications and transportation, wrote on Twitter.

"The plane was taking off," Governor Jose Rosas Aispuro told Mexican television, adding that witnesses told him there was "a bang" and then without warning the plane was on the ground.

TV images showed the severely damaged body of the plane after it came to rest in scrubland and a column of smoke rose into the sky.

The plane made an emergency landing about six miles (10 km) from the airport, Alejandro Cardoza, a spokesman for the state's civil protection agency, said on local television. Other authorities said the crash was closer to the airport.

Cardoza said in an interview that around 85 people had been injured, adding that a fire resulting from the accident had been put out. The civil protection agency said 37 people were hospitalized, while the state health department said two passengers were in a critical condition.

The operator of Durango airport, Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte , attributed the crash to bad weather conditions, citing preliminary reports. The plane had barely taken off when it felt like it was hit by a strong air current, one passenger told network Televisa.

"Many managed to leave the plane on foot," Cardoza said.

Aeromexico said on Twitter that flight number 2431 was an Embraer 190 bound for Mexico City when it crashed. A spokesman for the Mexican airline declined to disclose the passenger list or the nationalities of those on board.

Embraer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto wrote on Twitter that he had instructed the defence, civil protection and transportation ministries to aid in the response to the crash.

courtesy : ndtv.com

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New Delhi (PTI): A Delhi court has acquitted a man and his parents in a dowry death case, saying the prosecution failed to establish allegations of cruelty or dowry harassment against them.

Additional Sessions Judge Deepak Wason acquitted Kartik Sharma, his father Ravi Dutt Sharma, and his mother Veena Sharma in the case of Shivali Sharma, who died by suicide in March 2023.

The accused were facing trial under Sections 498A (cruelty by husband or relatives) and 304B (dowry death) of the IPC.

In the April 1 order, the court said, “There is nothing on record to establish the culpability of the accused persons in the commission of the offences charged against them. The prosecution has failed to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt.”

It held that while the death was unnatural and occurred within seven years of marriage, the key elements of dowry death, particularly proof of harassment connected to dowry demands, remained unproven.

According to the prosecution, the deceased's family alleged she was subjected to harassment and repeated dowry demands, including cash and a vehicle, which allegedly drove her to commit suicide.

The police registered the FIR after her parents made statements before an executive magistrate.

However, during the trial, key prosecution witnesses, including the deceased's mother, father, brother, uncle and grandmother, did not support the allegations in the court.

They consistently stated that Shivali was living a "peaceful and happy" married life and denied any dowry demand or harassment by the accused.

The witnesses further attributed her death to depression caused by her child's serious medical condition.

The court noted that the testimonies of close relatives, considered the most material witnesses, revealed no evidence of cruelty or dowry-related harassment “soon before her death,” a crucial requirement to establish an offence under Section 304B IPC.

The court observed that the medical evidence confirmed death due to asphyxia caused by hanging.

Giving the benefit of the doubt, the court said this alone was insufficient to implicate the accused without corroborative evidence of cruelty.