5 survive plane crash off Venezuela; 1 killed

Caracas: A small plane has crashed into the sea off Venezuela`s coast, leaving one person dead and five survivors who were rescued and brought to shore.

The twin-engine Beechcraft BE-58 went down east of the coastal city of Cumana in the Gulf of Cariaco on Saturday, Interior Minister Nestor Reverol said. Reverol said the pilot had declared an emergency due to the failure of both engines and put the plane down in the water. After the crash, rescue workers and fishermen helped the survivors to shore, the Minister said on state television. A 62-year-old woman died in the accident, the country`s civil aviation agency said in a statement. The five survivors, including a boy and the pilot, were brought ashore in boats and treated at a hospital, said Gen. Francisco Paz Fleitas, president of the National Civil Aviation Institute. The plane had been flying from Puerto Ordaz to Venezuela`s Margarita Island when it went down. PTI