LOS ANGELES, Dec 10 (Reuters) – The family of
Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera said on Monday they are
holding onto hope that she may still be alive, although U.S.
officials said earlier that she died on Sunday in a plane crash
in Mexico.
“In our eyes, we still have faith that our sister will be
OK,” Rivera’s brother Juan told reporters outside the family
house near Long Beach, California.
“We thank God for the life that he has given … my sister,”
said Juan Rivera, also a singer. “For all the triumphs and
successes she has had, and we expect that there will be more in
the future.”
Rivera, 43, died after the small jet she was traveling in
crashed in northern Mexico on Sunday, U.S. officials said.
Rivera’s father, Pedro, told Telemundo television on Sunday that
everyone on the plane had died. So far, authorities have not
announced the recovery of any bodies.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said it was
helping Mexican authorities with the investigation of the crash
of the private Learjet LJ25.
The plane crashed at about 3:30 a.m. local time (0930 GMT)
in the municipality of Iturbide some 70 miles (112 km) south of
Monterrey, from which the singer and six others were en route to
Mexico City.
Rivera was to perform in the city of Toluca, 40 miles (64
km) southwest of Mexico city, in central Mexico after a concert
in Monterrey on Saturday night.
It is not clear what caused the crash, and the Mexican
transportation ministry said the wreckage was strewn so far
about that it was difficult to recognize the crash site.
Rivera was born in Long Beach to Mexican immigrants and
lived in suburban Los Angeles. She was a giant figure in the
Mexican folk nortena and banda genres.
She had sold 15 million albums in her 17-year career and
garnered a slew of Latin Grammy nominations.
“The entire Universal Music Group family is deeply saddened
by the sudden loss of our dear friend Jenni Rivera,” the
singer’s record label said in a statement.
“From her incredibly versatile talent to the way she
embraced her fans around the world, Jenni was simply
incomparable,” Universal added in the statement. “Her talent
will be missed; but her gift of music will be with us always.”
In recent years Rivera had branched out into television with
a reality television show and as a judge on the Mexican version
of the singing competition “The Voice.”
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Lisa
Shumaker)
