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15 Dead in Venezuela Plane Crash; 36 Others Survive


Fifteen people have been killed in the crash of an airplane belonging to Venezuela's state-run airline, Conviasa. Thirty-six others on board survived the accident in a steel mill yard in Bolivar state.

Steel mill workers helped pull the survivors from the smoking wreckage.

It is not clear what caused the crash, but officials say the pilot had radioed traffic controllers that something was wrong before the plane went down on the property of the state-run Sidor steel mill.

The aircraft, a twin-engine turboprop, was carrying 47 passengers and a crew of four. It was flying from the Caribbean resort island of Margarita to the industrial city of Puerto Ordaz.

Bolivar's state governor described the large number of survivors as "a miracle." And he called the steel mill workers "heroes" for assisting the survivors.


Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.

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