MEXICO CITY -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The death toll in a plane crash that claimed the life of Mexico 's interior minister and two other high-ranking officials has risen to 13 , Mexico City prosecutor Miguel Angel Mancera said Wednesday , according to Mexico 's state-run Notimex news agency . The scene of Tuesday night 's plane crash in Mexico City was one of panic and confusion , a witness says . The small plane carrying Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mourino and seven others crashed in central Mexico City on Tuesday night . A witness described `` moments of panic and confusion '' after the crash , as burning people asked for help and others ran from the scene . The crash injured 40 people on the ground , said government spokesman Marcelo Ebrard . All eight passengers and crew on board the plane were killed , the spokesman said . Two of the dead are women , Mancera said . Also among the dead were Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos , a former deputy attorney general , and Miguel Monterubio Cubas , the director of social communication , President Felipe Calderon said in a televised address Tuesday night . In Mexico , the minister of the interior oversees domestic affairs , particularly national security , law enforcement and the war on drugs . It is Mexico 's second-most-powerful post . Vasconcelos was one of Mexico 's top experts on the fight against narcotraffickers and was said to have a price on his head . `` I want to express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and my absolute support during this difficult time , '' Calderon said . Mourino , he said , `` was one of my closest colleagues and one of my best friends . ... With his death , Mexico loses a great Mexican . '' At least 12 cars were burned and two buildings were damaged , Notimex said . Watch video footage of the aftermath of the crash Â '' No cause for the crash was immediately given , but Calderon assured the nation that the results of the investigation will be made public . The Learjet 45 did not explode in the air , said Luis Tellez , secretary of communication and transportation . When there is an explosion in the air , Tellez said at a news conference Wednesday , pieces of the airplane are scattered over a wide area . But the wreckage in this instance was limited to a small area , he said . Tellez said Wednesday the pilot did not report an emergency , Notimex said . An audio recording released Wednesday of what Mexican officials said was dialogue between the pilot and the airport control tower did not appear to have an emergency call from the aircraft . The recording could be linked to off the Notimex Web site . The plane was traveling from the north-central city of San Luis Potosi to Mexico City , Calderon said . The cities are about 220 miles -LRB- 355 km -RRB- apart . The Learjet was built in 1998 and carried identification call letters of XCVMC , Tellez said . Agustin Arellano , director of the federal agency that oversees Mexican airspace , said the aircraft 's flight path , altitude and velocity were within accepted standards for a landing at Mexico City 's Benito Juarez International Airport . The information was retrieved from the airplane 's flight data recorder , Arellano said at the news conference with Tellez . The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it has sent a team of investigators , led by senior aviation accident investigator Joe Sedora . The team includes technical advisers from the NTSB , the Federal Aviation Administration , Learjet and Honeywell International , it said . Mourino had just given a speech in San Luis Potosi , detailing the administration 's efforts to combat drug traffickers , kidnappers and other criminals . When Calderon took office in December 2006 , Mourino said , the new president focused on combating crime . `` It was decided to combat criminal groups with all available power in order to confront them , to reduce them and to fulfill the essential mandate of all authority , which is none other than to guarantee peace , tranquility and security for its citizens , '' Mourino said in his speech . Calderon has unleashed federal police and soldiers in several states across Mexico and tightened controls on money laundering and corruption among local and municipal police forces , which have been infiltrated by drug traffickers . The effort has resulted in widespread carnage , with more than 3,000 deaths this year . At the scene of Tuesday 's crash , taxi driver Raymundo Bernal , 28 , told Notimex that he witnessed the event . `` I heard a strong roar and then saw four people who were burning and asking for help while the rest ran and the tops of trees were burning , '' he said . `` The ambulances took 10 minutes to arrive , but several of the people who were burning were not moving , and what followed were moments of panic and confusion . '' More than 100 federal police secured the area , while the military took control of the airport at San Luis Potosi , Notimex said . Mourino , 37 , studied in the United States , receiving an undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Tampa . He did post-graduate studies in accounting and finance from the Universidad Autonoma de Campeche , his government biography says . After serving in municipal government in Campeche , Mourino was a regional coordinator for Vicente Fox 's successful presidential candidacy in 2000 . He later served in the Mexican federal congress and in the Cabinet . He was chief of the president 's office from December 2006 to January 2008 .