22 dead in plane crash in Argentine Patagonia

22 dead in plane crash in Argentine Patagonia

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A commercial airplane crashed Wednesday in Argentina's southern Patagonia region and all 22 people on board are dead, said a local hospital director.

Sol Airlines said its Flight 5248 carrying three crew members and 19 passengers, including a baby, communicated an emergency while flying from Neuquen near the Andes to Comodoro Rivadavia along the coast of Patagonia.

"Unfortunately there are no survivors. We see burnt remains, everything burned," Ismael Ali, who directs the hospital in the nearest town of Los Menucos, told the Todo Noticias channel.
Todo Noticias and C5N Television reported that the propellor-driven Saab 345 iced up in the frigid air over Patagonia, but there was no official confirmation of this possible cause.
Sol said in a statement that it received an emergency communication from the plane at 8:50 p.m. local time, 42 minutes into the flight.

Los Menucos Mayor Mabel Yahuar said they sent firefighters and ambulances to the relatively flat and remote area of Rio Negro province.

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