Fourteen people dead after plane carrying at least 51 comes down near Ciudad Guayana

This article is more than 10 years old

This article is more than 10 years old

At least 15 people were killed today when a plane belonging to Venezuela's state-run airline Conviasa slammed into the yard of a steel mill.

The ATR 42 twin turboprop with at least 51 people on board came down six miles from the eastern city of Ciudad Guayana, from where it had taken off.

"So far 33 people are being treated in nearby clinics and hospitals. Sadly we have 15 bodies to identify and we have not found four people," local governor Francisco Rangel Gómez said.

Images showed the fuselage broken into at least two pieces in a yard stacked with rubbish and empty barrels. The wings lay several metres away.

A nearby hospital in Puerto Ordaz received injured people and bodies from the crash site. Hospital director Yanitza Rodriguez said many of the injuries were serious.

Rangel said the exact cause of the crash was unknown, and that the pilot had radioed to warn the plane was in difficulty. Some survivors would be airlifted to the capital, Caracas, he added.

The domestic flight was on its way to Porlamar, on Venezuela's Caribbean island of Margarita. The plane maker, ATR, is a joint venture between Airbus parent company EADS and the Italian aerospace group Finmeccanica.

In Venezuela's last major crash, in 2008, a plane from the private airline Santa Barbara crashed in mountains near the Andean city of Merida, killing all 46 aboard.

In a separate development, authorities reported 34 people missing at sea. Three boats left Los Testigos islands on Saturday but did not arrive as planned at Margarita island, 50 miles away.

The emergency management director, Luis Diaz, said rescuers were searching for the vessels using helicopters, patrol boats and about 40 small fishing boats.