Plane carrying 14 crashes into tyre factory

A plane carrying 14 people crashed today in the southern Ecuadorian city of Cuenca, and some survivors were taken to a hospital.

“The plane crashed against a tyre factory in an industrial park near the airport at 11:40am (4.40pm Irish time),” Red Cross spokesman Galo Verdugo said.

He said an unspecified number of injured were taken to area hospitals and “the number of fatalities is not confirmed”.

A reporter for Radio Quito, speaking from the crash site, said there apparently were survivors in the wreckage of the plane, which was stuck in a factory wall.

Other witnesses told local radio stations that workers were having lunch in another area of the factory when the plane hit, and so none were injured.

The plane was carrying 12 passengers and two crew members from Cuenca to Macas in Ecuador’s south-eastern jungle.