Rescue teams searching the Amazon jungle in Venezuela following a military helicopter crash six days ago have found at least five people alive, according to reports.

The helicopter, which was carrying five military personnel, four civilians and four crew members, disappeared during poor weather last Friday.

Venezuela's El Nacional paper reports that the Russian-made Mi-17 was discovered on Thursday, with the five military crew on board all found alive.

It is not yet clear whether the helicopter crew or civilian passengers have been found.

Survivors were due to be taken to Puerto Ayacucho, the capital of Venezuela's Amazonas state, in the early hours of Friday morning.


Details of their conditions are yet to be confirmed.

Liborio Guarulla, Governor of Amazonas state, posted a tweet on Wednesday unofficially reporting the helicopter had been seen on the edge of the Cerro Duida mountain.

He later followed up his tweet confirming that it had been found by the Yecuana indigenous tribe.

Mr Guarulla had previously criticised the lack of government resources made available to the search, which had been hampered by poor weather conditions.

In response, defence minister Vladimir Padrino López and Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro said they were intensifying the search of the dense forest region.