Mexico Plane Crash Kills Gov't Official

A presidential spokesman says Mexico's interior secretary has been killed in small-plane crash in the capital.

Cars are in flames on the street where the plane crashed. Officials say it appears to be an accident. Eight people are confirmed dead and at least 40 have been hospitalized.

Presidential spokesman Max Cortazar told journalists late Tuesday that Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mourino and a group of advisers were among those killed. They were returning from an event in the city of San Luis Potosi.

Mourino is one of President Felipe Calderon's closest advisers and has been embroiled in scandal since taking office in the midst of Mexico's violent fight against drug cartels. He was in charge of the country's security.

The plane crashed in the affluent Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood in Mexico City Tuesday, officials said.

Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard said there were no survivors.

Ebrard said "there is no other possibility" of survivors considering the force of the crash.

Secretary of Transportation Luis Tellez confirmed that Mourino and Vasconcelos were aboard.

Television footage showed cars in flames and rescue authorities dashing about on the ground to control the flames and keep spectators away.

Ebrard said that 1,800 people were evacuated from area offices.

Civil aviation officials were investigating the cause of the crash, he said.