Venezuala plane wreck yields no survivors

The wreckage of plane carrying 46 people was found today scattered across mountains in western Venezuela. There were feared to be no survivors.

The debris was spotted by helicopter sent as part of a search team after contact was lost with the twin-engined plane.

“The impact was direct. The aircraft is practically pulverised,” a searcher said.

He added that officials believed there were no survivors and were sending a helicopter back to the area after a refuelling stop.

Search teams heading for the remote spot where the plane went down will determine more conclusively “in what conditions the aircraft ended up,” said Noel Marquez, emergency management director in Merida state.

The wreckage was about six miles from the airport in the Andean city of Merida, from where the plane departed.

Owned by Venezuelan airline Santa Barbara, the aircraft failed to contact control towers in two cities as expected.