Venezuela Plane Crash September 13 2010: Survivors Reported

by Amy Judd | September 13, 2010 at 07:32 am

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A Plane Has Crashed in Venezuela With 51 People On Board

A plane has gone down in Venezuela with 47 passengers on board and four crew members. It burst into flames while still in the air and broke almost completely in half. Miraculously 33 people survived.

"A total of 33 people are being cared for at different clinics," Bolivar governor Francisco Rangel Gomez said. "We have 14 bodies that are being identified and we are searching for four people" in the wreckage.

The plane crashed on Sidor property, but no one on the ground was hurt. The pilot had warned before the crash that the plane was in trouble and it is believed that the quick thinking of the responding rescue teams helped to save so many people.

"Unfortunately we do have deaths but... given the condition of the plane, I think that we were lucky," Transport and Communications Minister Francisco Garces said.

The plane belongs to Conviasa airlines and it crashed about six miles from Puerto Ordaz according to the Associated Press. The plane was on its way to Margarita Island, but the reason behind the crash is not known.

The BBC reports that the plane was a ATR 42 twin-turboprop and it crashed shortly after leaving Manuel Carlos Piar airport.

An investigation into the crash has been opened.