siste fra
CNN.com
Report: Airliner crashes in western Venezuela
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Posted: 1206
GMT (2006
HKT)
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- A passenger plane crashed in remote western Venezuela with 152 passengers aboard early Tuesday, an aviation official said. It was unclear whether anyone survived.
The West Caribbean Airways plane was headed from Panama to Martinique in the Caribbean when its pilot reported engine trouble to the Caracas airport, said Francisco Paz, president of the National Aviation Institute.
Airport authorities lost radio contact with the plane later in the area of Machiques, in the western state of Zulia, he said.
"Residents in the area said they heard an explosion," Paz said. "Air rescue teams are traveling to the area right now by air and by land."
He said the pilot reported trouble with both engines to the Caracas air control tower just after 3 a.m. ET, and authorities lost contact with the plane roughly 10 minutes later.
The plane had been chartered for tourists, and 152 passengers were listed on the flight plan, Paz said. It wasn't immediately clear how many crew members accompanied them.
The plane was believed to have gone down between two farms in the remote zone.
West Caribbean Airways, a Colombian airline, began service in 1998.
In March, a twin-engine plane operated by the same airline crashed during takeoff from the Colombian island of Old Providence, killing eight people and injuring the other six passengers.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.