Plane crashes in Venezuelan residential area
A light plane crashed in a residential area in northern Venezuela, killing at least seven people, the Globovision TV channel said on Monday.
The Czech-produced L-39 Albatros trainer aircraft, with a pilot and a passenger onboard, fell in the town of Guarapiche, located several hundred feet from the runways of the Jose de Sucre International Airport in the Venezuelan state of Sucre.
The jet caught fire, which engulfed three houses. The bodies of the pilot and the male passenger were pulled from the debris. Other victims included two children and two pregnant women, who were inside their houses when the crash occurred.
Five people were hospitalized with burns and fractures.
The cause of the accident is yet to be established, and media reports vary.
The pilot apparently informed the traffic controller of an engine failure several minutes before the accident.
Eyewitnesses said, however, the plane was performing a turn when it was caught in a sudden gust of side wind.
|
