MOSCOW, February 22 (RIA Novosti) - A passenger aircraft crashed in a mountainous jungle area in Venezuela 30 minutes after takeoff on Friday, killing all 46 people on board, rescuers said.
The plane crashed at an altitude 3,600 meters (12,000 ft) in the Sierra La Culata National Park.
The short-haul French-made ATR-42 plane disappeared from radar screens in the Venezuelan Andes after leaving a popular tourist spot for the capital Caracas, the local Union Radio station reported.
The plane, owned by the local Santa Barbara Airlines, had 43 passengers and three crew members on board.
ATR-42 planes have so far been involved in at least 17 accidents around the world. This January, a plane of the same model carrying 14 people crashed near the Venezuelan coast after both its engines failed.
