DURANGO: At least 85 people were injured after an Aeromexico flight crashed on takeoff during a heavy hail storm in northern Mexico, engulfing the plane in flames, officials said Tuesday, reports AFP.

The Embraer 190 aircraft, which was operating between Durango and Mexico City, crashed around 4pm local time (21:00 GMT), “with 97 passengers and four crew members on board,” according to Mexico’s transport minister Gerardo Ruiz Esparza.

“It is confirmed that there have been no deaths from the flight #AM2431 accident,” tweeted Jose Rosas, the governor of Durango state where the crash happened.

“Approximately 85 people are injured,” Durango’s civil defense spokesman Alejandro Cardoza told the Milenio television channel, adding there are some “serious injuries” but the majority are “very light.”

Dozens of lightly injured passengers were seen leaving the plane, which was engulfed in gray smoke in a field.