Passengers survive Colombian air crash

Some 130 passengers and crew escaped alive after their airliner crashed and broke into pieces landing on a Colombian island today.

The Boeing 737 broke into three on the isle 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 (0749 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.

"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 members had been aboard. The only person killed was Amar Fernandez de Barreto, 65. At least five people were reported injured.