Eight Mexican Officials Killed In Plane Crash

A small plane carrying Mexican state government officials slammed into the side of a canyon and exploded, killing all eight people aboard, police said.

A witness said he heard the Cessna 500 Citation sputtering in an attempt to gain altitude just after 1 p.m. Tuesday. But the pilot couldn’t pull up in time, and the plane smashed into the mountain, exploding three times.

Ensenada police said all six passengers worked for the Baja California state government.