Teen survives Panama plane crash, 3 die

PANAMA CITY, Panama, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- A 13-year-old girl was found alive Tuesday when authorities located the wreckage of a small plane that crashed in Panama, killing three other people.

The survivor was identified as Francesca Lewis, the friend of Talia Klein, 13, who died along with her American businessman father, Michael Klein, 37, and the Panamanian pilot, Edwin Lasso, CNN reported. Lewis was hospitalized with various injuries and suffering from hypothermia, CNN reported.

Klein and the two girls were on a sightseeing flight Sunday to photograph a volcano in Chiriqui Province, about 285 miles west of Panama City. It was believed by authorities that the single-engine Cessna ran into bad weather.

Heavy rains and the rugged, mountainous jungle terrain hampered the search.

Klein, a hedge fund manager, had been president and chief executive officer of eGroups Inc. until 2000, when Yahoo! acquired the company, CNN said.