At least five dead in plane crash in Honduras

May 31, 2008, 6:03 GMT

Hondurians and firefighters help during the rescue operation and passengers\' evacuation from a TACA airlines airplane coming from El Salvador which landed out of the landing strip at the airport of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 30 May 2008, leaving an uncertain number of injured and causing the death of the President from the Central American Bank of Economic Integration (BCIE), Nicaraguan Harry Brautigam. EPA/GUSTAVO AMADOR

Tegucigalpa, Honduras -The crash of an airliner operated by Salvadoran company TACA left at least five people dead and 76 injured as it dropped Friday onto a road near Toncontin airport in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.

Hospital sources confirmed the deaths of Harry Brautigan of Nicaragua, the head of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE), Cesare D'Antony of El Salvador, the pilot, and Janeth Chantal Neele, wife of Brasilia's new ambassador in Honduras, who were passengers on the plane.

Ambassador Bryan Neele, who was also on board, survived the crash.

Two others died on the ground when the out-of-control aircraft crushed the car in which they were travelling, Honduran media reported.

Local radio reported that the aircraft - an Airbus A-320 carrying 124 passengers and a seven-member crew - missed the runway in bad weather caused by tropical storm Alma.

The plane managed to land, but the pilots lost control of its speed and it fell down a 20-metre ravine, crashing onto a busy nearby road filled with rush-hour traffic and hitting four motor vehicles.

TACA manager Armando Funes said the plane also crashed into a tree and was 'broken in three.'

Several people reportedly suffered serious injuries in the accident.

The machine was arriving from Los Angeles, stopping over in San Salvador with Tegucigalpa its final destination.

Former Honduran trade minister Norman Garcia, who was on board the aeroplane, was quoted by Honduran newspaper El Heraldo as saying that the plane had already made one failed attempt to land and circled for a second try. The second attempt ended tragically.

Rescue teams were particularly concerned with securing the aircraft's fuel tanks, lest they explode.

Television showed rescue efforts to be chaotic, with hundreds of bystanders - who helped get people out of the plane immediately after the accident - watching from a close distance regardless of their own safety.

Honduran Health Minister Elsa Palau said Brazilian Ambassador Neele was among the injured. He had accompanied Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to a meeting with Central American leaders in El Salvador.

Honduran President Manuel Zelaya visited the Hospital-Escuela, the country's main hospital, where the crash victims were taken, and encourage medical personnel in their efforts.

Zelaya said the crash provides more evidence of the urgent need to use the joint US-Honduran Palmerola Air Base, some 80 kilometres north of Tegucigalpa, instead of Toncontin for international flights. The runway at Palmerola is the widest and safest in Honduras, and has modern aeronautical facilities.

Tegucigalpa airport is surrounded by mountains and has a short runway. In bad weather, it is relatively common for planes to be diverted to the Salvadoran capital San Salvador or to San Pedro Sula, in Honduras.