Brazilian passenger jet wreck found in Amazon jungle
Saturday, September 30, 2006
A Brazilian passenger jet operated by budget airline Gol Transportes Aéreos that was reported missing whilst on route to Rio de Janeiro via Brasilia from Manaus has been located by the Brazilian Air Force. The wreckage of the Boeing 737, Flight 1907, which was carrying 149 passengers and 6 crew was spotted in the rural state of Mato Grosso in the Amazon rainforest. There are no survivors.
At least 20 of the passengers of the flight were employees of Yamaha Corp.
José Carlos Pereira, president of the Brazilian airport authority (Infraero) told journalists, "It would be very difficult for anyone to survive such a crash. Our experience shows that when one cannot find the fuselage relatively intact and when the wreckage is concentrated in a relatively small area, the chances of finding any survivors are practically non-existent"
Gol released a statement saying "The wreckage of the plane was found 30 kilometres north of the Peixoto Azevedo municipality"
Troops are currently attempting to make their way through the dense jungle to the wreckage on foot.
Many relatives and friends desperate for information gathered at airports in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Manaus during the night.
Aviation officials now say that initial reports that the airliner collided with a smaller private plane cannot be confirmed.
Gol, which was founded in 2001, say that the plane was new and had only come into service this month.
A passenger list and further information can be found on the Gol website. Further information for family members can be found by calling 0800 2800749.
Sources
- CNN. "Missing plane found, no survivors" — China Daily, September 30, 2006
- "Brazilian plane missing in Amazon" — BBC News Online, September 30, 2006
- The Associated Press. "Officials: Jetliner disappears over Amazon" — CNN, September 30, 2006
- Reuters. "Officials: Plane carrying 155 disappears" — CNN, September 29, 2006
External links
- Passenger list and further information on the Gol website.