14 Die as Cargo Plane Crashes in Port City

A Boeing 707 cargo plane crashed shortly after takeoff in the downtown section of an Ecuadorean port, killing the crew of four and at least 10 others on the ground, according to local radio reports. Witnesses said the plane struck the bell tower of the La Dolorosa church and broke up in flames, setting fire to surrounding houses in Manta, about 160 miles southwest of Quito on the Pacific coast. The radio reports said at least 10 people on the ground had been found burned to death following the 10:40 p.m. crash. It was feared the toll could go much higher because the homes in the area of the crash are tightly grouped. The last major crash in Ecuador was May 4, 1995, when a private jet went down in the Andes Mountains near Quito, killing all eight aboard.