CARACAS, Venezuela, Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Investigators Tuesday were searching the wreckage of a Colombian airliner that went down in neighboring Venezuela, killing 160 people.
The plane carrying around 152 passengers identified as French nationals and a crew of eight crashed in a remote area of northwest Venezuela.
Venezuela's Globovision TV showed footage of the wreckage strewn through the dense forest, where recovery efforts are underway.
The West Caribbean Airways MD-82 aircraft reportedly was flying from Panama City to the French Caribbean island of Martinique.
Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane soon after it reported engine trouble and a loss of altitude.
Residents near the site of the crash said they heard an explosion in the mountainous jungle area of Machiques.
