Searchers in Ecuador locate crashed Venezuelan cargo jet, victims

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

QUITO (AFP) — Search teams recovered the wreckage of a missing Venezuelan cargo jet that crashed in the mountains of southern Ecuador and the remains of the aircraft's three crew members, Red Cross spokeswoman Cristina Medina said.

The plane, which went missing Saturday, was found in a mountainous area of Cotopaxi province in southern Ecuador, said Diego Valencia, a Red Cross official who led the recovery operations.

"The three crew members are dead," Valencia told AFP, adding that their bodies had been taken to be examined by forensic experts.

The Boeing 737-200 plane owned by Venezuela's state-owned airline Conviasa crashed after departing from Caracas's Maiquetia airport en route to Latacunga airport 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Quito.

The...