UPDATE 9:35 PM ET | Jenni Rivera’s father and brother confirmed on Telemundo that the Mexican-American singer died in a plane crash on Saturday night, according to NBC News.
Earlier Sunday, Mexico’s Secretary of Communications and Transportation, Gerardo Ruiz Esparza, confirmed that officials found the remains of an airplane that was carrying Rivera from Monterrey to Toluca, Mexico.
Rivera was traveling on a private plane following a concert at Arena Monterrey on Dec. 8. She was traveling with her publicist, Arturo Rivera, her stylist Jorge Sanchez, her makeup artist Jacobo Llenares, her attorney Mario Macias, along with the plane’s pilots.
The official word is that there were no survivors.
| REMEMBERING JENNI RIVERA
• PHOTOS: The Latin Diva’s Life • REACTION: Stars Shocked • VIDEO: Our Chat w/ Her in April • Regional Mexican Airplay — 10 Top 10s (Including One No. 1)
Album Sales: 1.1 million sold in U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. Top: 2005’s “Parrandera Rebelde Y Atrevida” (211,000) |
Authorities had been looking for the plane since 4:40 a.m. Mexico time, since it lost contact with the airport a few minutes after departing. The plane was found in a ranch in Iturbide in the state of Nuevo León, close to Monterrey.
Rivera was currently a coach on “The Voice Mexico.” Tonight’s show, the semi-final, has been postponed and instead, network Televisa aired a special on the singer.
Mexico’s Civil Aeronautics authority (DGAC) confirmed on its website this afternoon that it has “initiated investigations about the alleged fall of a plane owned by Starwood Management with tags N345MC, which took place this morning in the state of Nueva León.”
According to the report, the LearJet left Monterrey at 3:15 am and lost contact with the radar 61.8 miles from Monterrey. Search parties were sent out at 4:40 a.m. local time, with the help of two helicopters and a plane.
The plane was en route from Monterrey to Toluca. Rivera performed a concert at Arena Monterrey last night. Rivera, an avid user of Twitter, last sent out tweets at approximately 5 am ET.
The singer, one of the most successful female performers on Latin charts today, is signed to Fonovisa/UMLE and is also the star of her own reality television show, “I Love Jenni,” on cable network mun2. She recently signed a deal with ABC to star in her own comedy series, titled “Jenni.”
She has had 10 top 10 songs on Billboard’s Regional Mexican Airplay chart (including a No. 1); 8 top 10 entries on the Regional Mexican Albums chart (including four No. 1s); seven top 10 hits on the Top Latin Albums chart (including one No. 1); and one top 10 hit on the Hot Latin Songs chart. She has sold approximately 1,158,000 albums in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
The 43-year-old banda star, who was born and raised in Long Beach, California, spoke at the 2012 Billboard Latin Music conference in April.