Plane Crash Site in Venezuela Found
CARACAS, Venezuela — Searchers spotted the shattered wreckage of a plane carrying 46 people in the mountains of western Venezuela on Friday. All aboard were believed killed, officials said.
"The impact was direct. The aircraft is practically pulverized," firefighter Sgt. Jhonny Paz told the Venezuelan television station Globovision. He said officials sent a helicopter back to the area after a refueling stop.
Crews had yet to reach the crash site, but Gen. Antonio Rivero, Venezuela's top emergency official, said officials expected that "all of those aboard died."
The twin-engine plane "crashed into the face of one of the mountains," he told state television
The wreckage was located at an altitude of 13,500 feet in an area known as Los Conejos plateau within the Sierra La Culata National Park, officials said.
The plane went down about 6 miles from the airport in the Andean city of Merida, from where the plane departed, said Gen. Ramon Vina, head of the civil aviation authority. Vina also told reporters that officials believe there are no survivors.
The French-made ATR 42-300 carrying 43 passengers and three crew members took off Thursday afternoon bound for Caracas and was reported missing 30 minutes later, officials said. The flight was to have taken an hour and 45 minutes.
Once the plane took off, the control tower received no further communication from the pilot, said Jorge Alvarez, president of Santa Barbara, a small airline that covers domestic routes in Venezuela.
The weather was normal for Merida on Thursday, with some areas sunny and fog at higher elevations, said Lt. Luis Uzcategui of the Merida fire department.
"In that mountainous area there always tends to be more fog due to the altitude," Uzcategui said.
Relatives and friends of those on board gathered in tears, some of them embracing, at Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caracas.
Among the passengers was the mayor of a small town in Merida state, Alexander Quintero, and his 11-year-old boy, state Gov. Florencio Porras said.
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Associated Press writer Sandra Sierra contributed to this report.
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JORGE RUEDA | February 22, 2008 11:16 AM EST |
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