Plane crash in Costa Rica kills 12

A Costa Rican plane carrying 10 passengers and 2 pilots crashed into a woodland off a popular tourist beach on Sunday, killing all on-board.

The incident took place on Sunday in the mountainous area off the Punta Islita beach town in the province of Guanacaste, which lies 230 km west of the capital of San Jose. The plane was a chartered one which had been hired to transport 10 US citizens from Punta Islita to San Jose.

Enio Cubillo, director of Costa Rica’s civil aviation agency, said the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan aircraft operated by local company Nature Air had crashed minutes after take-off, but that officials had not yet determined the cause of the crash.

“Regrettably this plane crashed a few minutes after taking off,” Nature Air said.

The plane had reportedly passed a safety inspection just last month and was cleared to fly. There were reports of strong winds in the area but so far the exact cause of the crash is still unknown.

It was reported that another plane had been chartered along with the one that crashed for the service of 20 people. The first place carrying 10 passengers had safely landed in San Jose at 11:40 am. The second one had departed 20 minutes later but sadly it never reached its destination.

A US State Department official confirmed that multiple U.S. citizens had died, but said the agency would not provide further details out of respect for the affected families.

“There are no people alive,” Costa Rica’s Security Minister Gustavo Mata said, adding that autopsies would be needed to confirm the total number and identities of victims because their remains were badly burned.

Punta Islita is a popular destination among tourists due to its spectacular beaches and lush green forests.

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Posted by fatimaarshad on Jan 1 2018. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.