LOS ROQUES, Venezuela (4 Jan 2008) — A plane carrying 18 passengers and crew crashed into the sea near the Los Roques archipelago, a popular Caribbean scuba diving destination. Air rescue and civil protection officials told CDNN the pilot reported engine trouble just before radio contact was lost with the Transaven Airlines twin-engine propeller plane. Bad weather has hampered the air and sea search in an area about 26 kilometers from Los Roques airport. At least 6 helicopters, two patrol boats and a Navy frigate are searching for the missing airliner. The Czech-made 19-seat LET L-410 was originally carrying 14 people but four more boarded the aircraft at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas just before it took off. According to unconfirmed reports, eight of the passengers were Italians, five were Venezuelans including the pilot and copilot, one was Swiss and one was an American. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK | 
