Plane Carrying 46 Missing in Venezuela

[February 22, 2008]  CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Rescue crews were sent Friday to find a commercial airliner carrying 46 people that disappeared in southwestern Venezuela. Officials feared the worst after residents reported hearing a crash in the mountains.

The flight was reported missing 30 minutes after takeoff on Thursday from the city of Merida. The rescue crews were headed to the mountainous area of Collado del Condor, at an altitude of about 13,000 feet.

Residents in the area reported by phone "that they heard a great crash," said Noel Marquez, the emergency management director in Merida state.

The twin-engine plane, owned by Venezuelan airline Santa Barbara, failed to contact control towers in two cities as expected after it took off en route to Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caracas, said Gen. Antonio Rivero, Venezuela's emergency management director.

Rivero told state television that authorities in the area "have information regarding the possible discovery of the plane" in the mountainous region. But he said officials have no information on what condition the plane could be in.

Relatives and friends of those on board gathered in tears, some of them embracing, at Simon Bolivar International Airport as they awaited word from authorities.

Santa Barbara is a small airline that covers domestic routes in Venezuela.

The French-made ATR 42-300 carrying 43 passengers and three crew members took off from Merida's airport at 4:59 p.m., officials said. The duration of the flight was to have been an hour and 45 minutes.

The area where it disappeared is about 400 miles southwest of Caracas.

[Associated Press; By JORGE RUEDA]

Associated Press writer Sandra Sierra contributed to this report.

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