UPDATE 3 -- No survivors after Sol Là neas Aéreas commuter plane crashes in southern Argentina

[News_Editor]

UPDATE 3 -- No survivors after Sol Líneas Aéreas commuter plane crashes in southern Argentina

2011-05-19 12:38:47 GMT+7 (ICT)

PRAHUANIYEU, ARGENTINA (BNO NEWS) -- A Sol Líneas Aéreas (SOL) commuter plane carrying more than 20 people crashed in southern Argentina on late Wednesday evening, the airline said, killing everyone on board.

Sol Líneas Aéreas flight 5428 was on a flight from Córdoba in Córdoba Province to Comodoro Rivadavia in Chubut Province during which it made two scheduled stops. The first stop was in Mendoza, the capital city of Mendoza Province, and the second in Neuquén, the capital city of Neuquén Province.

In a statement, SOL said the Saab 340 aircraft departed for its last part of the flight to Comodoro Rivadavia at approximately 8.08 p.m. local time. "At 8.50 p.m., the last communication from the aircraft was established to declare an emergency," the statement said.

The airline said the aircraft, which has a capacity to carry 40 passengers and crew, was carrying 18 adult passengers, one child, and three crew members when it crashed about 25 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of Los Menucos, a village in Río Negro Province.

Rescue workers were initially struggling to reach the area which has limited phone services and roads in the area are mostly impassable for vehicles. Hours after the accident, rescue teams arrived at the scene and reported finding no survivors.

It was not immediately clear what may have caused the accident, although Argentina media speculated that the propeller-driven aircraft may have iced up in the frigid air. Residents in the area reported seeing a "fireball" falling from the sky, the La Nacion newspaper reported.

In October 2010, ten passengers and two crew members survived when their Antonov AN-2 plane crashed and burst into flames near an airport in La Pampa province.

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