Reports From Scene: 25 Dead

A Venezuelan military transport reportedly crashed on take-off from La Orchila Island Sunday, killing all 25 people on board. Of the passengers, 15 were civilians, and five of these were children.

The Venezuelan web site VHeadline.com reports the Skytruck M-28 was headed back to the FAV Libertador air base in Maracay (Aragua), west of Caracas, when it went down shortly after take-off and burst into flames. La Orchilla Island is considered a major recreational attraction and is also home to the country's Caribbean submarine base.

"We believe that they were thrown off course by bad weather and were trying to reach a more secure zone in the vicinity of Lake Valencia when they crashed into a forest zone in the coastal mountain range," said Civil Defense (DC) Carabobo official Rafael David Loaiza, as quoted on the web site. He said the crash site was located in the El Perico mountain on the Mariara range in the province of Carababo.

VHeadline.com also reports there were eight Polish businessmen on board the M-28 and quotes officials who say the aircraft went down because of "technical problems."

Skytruck is a Polish company with a burgeoning presence in the US.

FMI: http://skytruck.us