Venezuela: Plane with 46 passengers on board reported missing

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A commercial airliner with 46 people on board was reported missing Thursday in western Venezuela, officials said. The twin-engine plane failed to contact control towers in two cities as expected after it took off from Merida en route to Simon Bolivar International Airport outside of Caracas, said Noel Marquez, director of Venezuela's emergency management agency in Merida. "It did not make contact with the control towers," Marquez said. He said authorities were searching for the plane and confirmed that it belonged to the company Santa Barbara, a small Venezuelan airline that covers domestic routes.