MEXICO CITY: Six members of Mexico's military died in an accident on Sunday morning involving a Mexican air force plane in the southeastern state of Veracruz, the country's Defense Ministry said.

The accident occurred as the Learjet 45 aircraft was taking off around 9:45 a.m. from an airport in the municipality of Emiliano Zapata, the ministry said in a statement.

The six victims have not been identified, and the military will carry out an investigation, the ministry added. It was not clear how many were aboard the plane.