Private Plane Bound for Belize Crashes in Guatemala |
Thu, May 14, 2009 |
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A small private plane bound for Belize crashed this afternoon in Guatemala
City. All five passengers on board and the pilot were killed. The plane had
just left the airport and crashed into the yard of a home near the airport.
“The plane plummeted when it made a turn towards the left,' said the head
of the Civil Aviation Office, Juan Jose Carlos.
He added that they still do not know if it was an engine failure or a pilot
error.
The plane was reported to be bound for Belize but indications are that there
were no Belizeans on board. We have confirmed with Aero-Dispatch Services at
the airport that they were expecting the plane to arrive this afternoon but
that is about all they know. And in another item of note from Guatemala, President Alavaro Colom is under
tremendous domestic pressure tonight as he is being accused of murder. Prominent
lawyer Rodrigo Rosenberg, who was shot dead on Sunday, had recorded a video
saying Mr. Colom and other officials were out to kill him and would be responsible.
In the widely published recording, he says "if you are watching this message,
it is because I was assassinated by President Alvaro Colom.
That video has prompted mass protests in the streets and calls for Colom’s
resignation. Colom has rejected the accusations and promised a full investigation
with international participation. |