A turboprop plane crashed near southern Mexico's Chichen Itza archaeological site Wednesday, killing all 17 US tourists and two Mexican pilots aboard, officials said.
It was not immediately clear why the Czech-made LET-410 crashed in a field five minutes after taking off from Chichen Itza, airport administrator Eduardo Alfaro told AFP.
The tourists visited the ruins and were heading back to their cruise ship, which had docked earlier in the day in Cozumel, a Mexican island 140 kilometers (90 miles) away, a spokesman for the small AeroFerinco airline said.
He said the 17 US nationals and two Mexican pilots aboard the small plane had all died in the crash.
The state-run Notimex news agency said police identified the passengers as Robert Wade, Lady Wade, Scott Columbia, Linda Swabs, Larry Swabs, Lisa Stayer, Karen Burks, Chuck Gentek, Shirley Gentek, Ted Zylstra, Mary Garney, Louis Michel, Dwight Michel, Barbara Martin, Geoss Vernon, Judy Vernon and Cesar Charles.
The pilots were identified as Jorge Luis Romero and Aurelio Perez Escamilla.
AeroFerinco specializes in flights in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula -- CANCUN, Mexico (AFP)
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