At least 24 people died when a Brazilian
airliner crashed into a tributary of the River Amazon in northern Brazil,
officials said Sunday, dpa reported.
Four passengers, among them a 9-year-old girl, survived the crash of the Manaus
Taxi Aereo plane in the River Manacapuru during bad weather on Saturday
afternoon.
They suffered only minor injures and were released from hospital after
treatment, media reports said.
The turboprop plane, manufactured by Brazilian company Embraer, was on its way
to Manaus from the small town of Coari, about an hour away.
The survivors told investigators that one of the plane's engines had failed
shortly before the crash.
The pilot radioed that he was returning to Coari, but then decided to attempt
an emergency landing the town of Manacapuro where the plane plunged into the
river about 500 metres from the runway.
Rescue teams, backed by divers and an air force helicopter, were searching for
more possible survivors after witnesses reported seeing a woman carried away by
the current.
Brazilian media speculated that the plane might have been overloaded because it
was licensed to carry only 20 passengers.
The accident occurred about 80 kilometres from the city of Manaus.
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