CARACAS, Venezuela, Feb. 22, 2008
"Pulverized" Venezuelan Plane Found
All 46 People Killed On Board Flight That Crashed Into Mountains, Officials Say
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Relatives of passengers on board a commercial flight flying from the southern Venezuela town of Merida to Caracas reported missing wait for news at the the desk of Venezuelan Santa Barbara airlines at the Simon Bolivar airport, near Caracas, Thursday Feb. 21, 2008. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
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"By the way it crashed we can determine there are no survivors," said Gen. Ramon Vinas, head of the civil aviation authority.
Search teams reached the remote site by helicopter and had to lower themselves with ropes onto the "complicated" mountainous terrain, Vinas said.
"The impact was direct. The aircraft is practically pulverized," firefighter Sgt. Jhonny Paz told the Venezuelan television channel Globovision.
The French-made ATR 42-300 carrying 43 passengers and three crew members crashed Thursday 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, where the Santa Barbara Airlines flight departed for Caracas, Vinas said.
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.
Relatives and friends of the victims gathered in tears, some of them embracing, at Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caracas.
"We join in the profound pain of all the relatives of our passengers and co-workers," the airline said in a statement. It pledged to cooperate fully in an investigation.
Aircraft manufacturer ATR, based in Toulouse, France, said specialists from the company and the French Accident Bureau were leaving "immediately" assist investigators.
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.
Among the dead were the mayor of a small town in Merida state, Alexander Quintero; his 11-year-old son; and two young relatives of federal Public Safety Vice Minister Tarek El Aissami, state Gov. Florencio Porras said.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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- libsrcOkskrs,What are you complaining about Chavez for,ya'' idiot? He''s got alot in common with your brotherdaddy in the whitehouse.Probably why they don''t get along.BTW,there is a site dedicated to you inbred,mouthbreathing,boogereaters,it''s called FOX news.
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- libsrc0kskrs,What a hypocrite.It''s easy to see from your posts that you''re a ccocksucker too!LOL Being a republican indicates that you enjoy it in the asss! I guess you''re a "middle of road, AC/DC" type of guy,LOL!GAWD HELP ME!I CRACK ME UP!
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- lets watch you pour your black liberal heart for the vnezuelan people..
Posted by libsrc0kskrs at 02:21 AM : Feb 23, 2008
Your mother must be very proud.... - Reply to this comment
- This is a horrible accident which took place and some people are just so incensitive,
This has nothing to do With Chavez or SHRUB jr.
Americans are so Mindless when speaking sometimes..
myself included, this is a human trajedy,
my heart goes out to the Venezuelan people in their time of grief..
Posted by Quetzal0666 at 02:38 PM : Feb 22, 2008
+ report abuse
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I would say you are right..lets not discuss that monkey looking south american moron..what is his face..oh chavez...lets watch you pour your black liberal heart for the vnezuelan people.. - Reply to this comment
- They and their families, loved ones will be in my prayers.
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- Condolences to all these families who lost loved ones.
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- Condolences to all concerned.
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- gunnerv - you''re an idiot. Can you say ACCIDENT.
Go check my answer to your post on the English serial killer story if you dare. - Reply to this comment
- demslie - look what darkmeat, ***-in-chief, posted and then tell me the devil DEMOCRATS are making this political!!! Sad story; 44 PEOPLE died - not democrats, republicans or "amazon jungle monkeys" - 44 PEOPLE; should be well clear of poltics.
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- School(crazy)lord NO GUNS USED HERE!
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