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Venezuela passenger jet missing Venezuela passenger jet missing
(about 1 hour later)
A commercial plane with 46 people on board has gone missing in Venezuela. The authorities in Venezuela say they fear a commercial plane with 46 people aboard has crashed.
The aircraft had been diverted because of poor weather before losing contact with air traffic controllers in the west of the country, officials said. The plane took off from Merida in the west of the country and was destined for the capital, Caracas.
The plane had taken off from the mountainous Andean state of Merida and was destined for the capital, Caracas. The twin-engine aircraft was diverted because of poor weather, before losing contact with air traffic controllers.
The jetliner is a twin-engine plane run by Santa Barbara, a small Venezuelan airline that covers domestic routes, the authorities said. There is no confirmation that it has crashed, but rescue teams are preparing to search the area near Merida for wreckage and any survivors.
The region's rugged terrain made it too difficult to launch a search and rescue operation on Thursday night, Noel Marquez, a civilian defence official said. Civil defence officials say operations will have to wait till daylight on Friday, because the rugged terrain makes it too difficult to search in the dark.
He told rescue teams would search for the plane in daylight on Friday. Merida is located in a mountainous region, 680 km (422 miles) southwest of Caracas.
Merida city is 680 km (422 miles) southwest of Caracas.