At Least 22 Killed in Crash in Paraguay
A Colombian cargo plane crashed into homes near Paraguay’s capital Sunday, killing at least 22 people, most of them children playing volleyball, said officials and radio reports.
The DC-8 aircraft of Colombia’s Lineas Aereas del Caribe crashed at 2:12 p.m., one minute after takeoff, Paraguay’s Civil Aviation Authority said.
Officials said at least 22 people were killed, but radio reports said the toll was at least 23. Five people were still missing.
Many of the victims were children and teenagers playing volleyball behind a house in a poor neighborhood as friends and relatives looked on, rescue workers said.
The three crew members and another man on board--all Colombians--were killed, the aviation authority said. The fourth man was not identified.
Two people were rescued from the rubble during the afternoon, according to reports. Volunteer firefighters at the site near Asuncion, however, said they needed a crane to lift part of the aircraft from on top of a small bar, which they feared might hold several bodies.
Rescue efforts were suspended at 9:30 p.m. because of lack of equipment, police said.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but witnesses said they saw one of the plane’s engines explode before it crashed.
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