Plane Carrying Up To 18 People Lost Off Venezuela

The aircraft was flying to the Los Roques archipelago from Caracas but never arrived at its destination.

A plane vanished off the coast of Venezuela on Friday carrying up to 18 people, including eight Italians and an American, rescue officials and the Italian government said.

The Czech-made LET L-410 aircraft was flying to the Los Roques archipelago from Caracas but never arrived at its destination, air rescue worker Caleb Castro told Reuters.

The plane was officially carrying 14 people but four more boarded just before takeoff, said Gen. Antonio Rivero, who heads Venezuela's civil protection agency.

A spokesman at the Italian Foreign Ministry said eight of the people on board were Italians. He gave no further details. Venezuela's civil protection agency said in a statement there was one U.S. citizen on board.

"Speed boats, a plane and a helicopter are searching for the aircraft," Castro said, adding that weather conditions in the region were perfect when the plane disappeared. The plane was being operated by Venezuela-based airline Transaven.

Luis Diaz, operations director for civil protection, said the pilot had reported engine problems before contact was lost. He said the search had not yet turned up the plane, but there was no evidence that it had crashed.

The non-profit Aviation Safety Network reported on its Web site that a Transaven-operated aircraft made an emergency landing after taking off from Caracas for Los Roques in 2005.

In 2002, another Transaven plane made an emergency landing in the sea while flying to the same islands, according to Venezuelan media. Thirteen people on board were uninjured.

Los Roques, a national park off the coast of Venezuela, is renowned for white sand beaches and crystalline water and is popular with European and U.S. tourists.