LA PAZ: Nine people aboard a small plane in Bolivia were killed when the plane crashed into a remote part of a jungle in the country’s Amazon region on Tuesday, a senior official said Thursday.
Special troops from the Bolivian Air Force and Navy have found the wreckage some 20 km northeast of Trinidad, capital of the northern province of Beni, Bolivian Defense Minister Cecilia Chacon said.
“We have been able to reach the site of the crash and can confirm that there are no survivors from this tragedy,” China’s news agency Xinhua quoted her as telling a press conference here.
The plane from the private airline Aerocon carried seven passengers, including two Colombian nationals, and two crew members when it disappeared on Tuesday at about 7 pm local time shortly before landing.
Poor visibility due to raging forest fires in the area was believed to a cause of the crash, Chacon said.
Local newspapers reported Eddy Martinez, a well-known leader of a movement for indigenous rights in Bolivia, was killed in the crash. But his death could not be confirmed immediately. – Bernama