Wreckage Of ATR-42 Located Friday Morning

There are apparently no survivors following the Thursday evening downing of a ATR-42-300 airliner in southwestern Venezuela.

The Associated Press reports the aircraft (file photo of type, shown below), owned by Venezuelan airline Santa Barbara, was reported missing 30 minutes after taking off from Merida, en route to Simon Bolivar International Airport near Caracas. Mainfests indicate 46 persons were onboard the turboprop.

Search crews were dispatched to scour the mountainous area of Collado del Condor, after nearby residents reported "that they heard a great crash," said Merida emergency management director Noel Marquez.

Helicopters located the wreckage Friday morning, at an altitude of about 13,000 feet.

"The impact was direct. The aircraft is practically pulverized," firefighter Sgt. Jhonny Paz told the Venezuelan television station Globovision.

There is no immediate indication of what might have led to the accident. Weather in Merida was described as normal Thursday, though officials noted fog at higher elevations. "In that mountainous area there always tends to be more fog due to the altitude," said Lt. Luis Uzcategui of the Merida fire department.

Santa Barbara is a small domestic airline, that operates flights within Venezuela.

FMI: www.sbairlines.com/