Mexican firm suspended after Cuban plane crash

Mexico's civil air authority has suspended the operations of a company that owned the plane which crashed in Cuba killing 111 people. It is the country's deadliest air disaster in 30 years.

The charter company, Aerolineas Damojh, had leased the airplane in question to Cuban state airlines Cubana de Aviacion, and is under "extraordinary verification", the BBC reported quoting an official statement as saying on Monday.

The crash on Friday killed 110 people immediately after taking off from the Havana airport, while one more died on Monday, bringing the total death toll to 111.

The plane was reportedly built in 1979. One former pilot said it had dropped off the radar once earlier, while another alleged that the maintenance was poor, the BBC reported.

The General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) statement said the authority will seek information to help the crash investigation, and whether the Mexican company continues to follow regulations.

It said Aerolineas Damojh was subject to previous investigations -- in 2010, due to a crash in Puerto Vallarta, and in 2013 following a complaint from an airline pilot.

The authority has run "annual checks" on Aerolineas Damojh, the statement read, with the most recent in November 2017, the BBC said.

Two women survived the crash -- Mailen Diaz, 19, and Emiley Sanchez, 39 but according to reports they are in critical condition.

--IANS

and/in