Miracle as 130 survive island plane crash

SOME 130 passengers and crew escaped alive after their air-liner crashed and broke into pieces landing in the Caribbean yesterday.

The Boeing 737 broke into three on the Colombian island of San Andres, but only one of the 131 on board died.

The Colombian air force said it was investigating reports the plane had been hit by lightning before crashing at 1.49am local time (07.49 BST) on the island about 120 miles east of the Nicaraguan coast.

The Aires jet had left the Colombian capital of Bogota at about midnight.

Passengers said the pilot had announced he was about to land and all seemed normal as the plane descended through rain.

But suddenly it fell short and then slid on to the runway on its belly as the fuselage fractured.

The plane came to a stop at one end of the runway, crumpled and in pieces, as passengers scrambled or were helped to safety.

"The skill of the pilot kept the plane from colliding with the airport," said an air force spokesman.

He said 125 passengers and six crew had been aboard.

The only person killed was Amar Fernandez de Barreto, 65. Ninety-nine passengers were taken to hospital on San Andres and officials said only four suffered major injuries.

"It's incredible. For the dimension (of the accident), there should be more," said a spokesman. He added an examination indicated Mr Barreto may have had a heart attack.

The air force spokesman said of the accident: "You can't speculate. Lightning? A gust of wind? The investigation will say."

He said part of the 7,800ft runway had been closed because parts of the plane were still scattered across it. But enough was usable that air ambulances would be able to land.

Police General Orlando Paez said that a group of policemen who had been waiting for the plane to take them back to the Colombian mainland helped in rescuing the victims.