Mexico searches for plane missing with 14 people

Authorities resumed Tuesday their search for a small plane that went missing a day earlier in northwestern Mexico with 14 people aboard. The plane vanished on Monday but the search was suspended due to heavy rain produced by tropical storm Octave, which made landfall as a weaker tropical depression in the Pacific coast state of Baja California Sur on Tuesday. Vice Admiral Jose Jesus Terrazas said an airplane headed to the La Giganta mountain range to look for the Cessna 208B single turboprop in the morning and that three more aircraft would join the search. Alejandro Cruz Olvera, an official from the transport ministry, said authorities would also carry out their search by foot due to the rough terrain. The plane, carrying one pilot and 13 passengers, all from Mexico, disappeared after taking off from the tourist town of Loreto on its way to the city of Constitucion in Baja California Sur. Residents told authorities they saw the plane flying low before it disappeared. Octave forced authorities to close schools for a second straight day in Baja California Sur. School buildings were transformed into shelters. Meanwhile, a second system, Priscilla, weakened from tropical storm to depression 980 kilometers (610 miles) from the southern tip of Baja California, the US National Hurricane Center said. The new weather threats come almost one month after an unusual double blast from tropical storms Manuel and Ingrid, which left at least 157 people dead in Mexico.