- Title: VENEZUELA: Venezuelan rescue crews report possible plane crash debris
- Date: 7th January 2008
- Summary: (W5) LOS ROQUES, VENEZUELA (JANUARY 06, 2008) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF LOS ROQUES BEACHES/ PALM TREES BLOWING IN THE WIND SIGN FOR LOS ROQUES NATIONAL PARK
- Embargoed: 22nd January 2008 12:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
- Reuters ID: LVA9LNLOHCP6RNL45Z10C49LYJ4F
- Story Text: Rescue crews continue search and investigate possible debris from a plane carrying 14 people that crashed off the coasts of a group of Venezuelan islands.
The search continued on Sunday (January 6) for a plane carrying 14 people, including eight Italians and one Swiss passenger, that crashed into the sea close to a group of Venezuelan islands on Friday (January 4).
Air rescue and civil protection officials said rescue workers in speed boats and helicopters were still searching for the twin-engine aircraft.
"Basically we know that one of our search planes saw, approximately 40 miles north of La Guaira, a piece of debris of unknown material. Without delay we sent some of our boats to retrieve this material and verify it," said the commander of the search and rescue mission, Captain Edgar Marquez Bolivar.
"Without delay once we recover [the material] we will examine it to see if it belongs to the plane or to a person," he added.
Officials said the pilot reported engine problems just before contact was lost with the Czech-made 19-seat LET L-410.
The plane was flying to the Los Roques archipelago from Caracas but reported engine trouble and never arrived at its destination, an air rescue worker said.
A spokesman at the Italian Foreign Ministry said eight of the people on board the plane were Italians. He gave no further details.
Civil protection said the plane, operated by Venezuela-based airline Transaven, fell into the sea about 24 miles (39 km) from Los Roques on Friday morning. The agency said in an evening press release that one of the passengers on board was Swiss, after having earlier identified that passenger as American.
Los Roques is a national park off the coast of Venezuela, renowned for white sand beaches and crystalline water popular with European and U.S.
tourists. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None