Sole survivor of Cuba plane crash leaves hospital

HAVANA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- After being hospitalized for 10 months, Mailen Diaz, the sole survivor of a plane crash in Cuba last year, has been released from the hospital, her family said Wednesday.

Via a Facebook post, her sister Mailin commented on the long-awaited return of the plane crash survivor along with her family members.

Mailin published several photos and a loving message in which she expressed joy at having her sister back home.

The young survivor was treated for several months at two hospitals here by multidisciplinary teams of Cuban specialists, who fought against a life-threatening state in which Mailen remained for a long period of time.

The patient, who was 19 at the time of the plane crash, suffered severe injuries to her neck, spinal column, thoracic area and other injuries that left her paraplegic, as well as severe burns leading to serious infections and the amputation of her left leg at the knee.

The Boeing 737-200, leased by local company Cubana de Aviacion from the Mexican airline Damojh, crashed on May 18, 2018, just minutes after taking off around noon from Havana's Jose Marti International Airport.

The tragedy claimed the lives of the six-member Mexican crew and the remaining 106 passengers, mostly Cubans. Mailen was the sole survivor.