Plane crash in Uruguay leaves at least seven dead

Photo: AFP

Maldonado, Uruguay: A small Argentine plane carrying 10 people crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday from a resort in neighboring Uruguay, leaving at least seven dead, authorities said Thursday.

The other three people were missing but there were no signs of survivors, said fire department spokesman Leandro Palomeque.

The Beechcraft prop plane had just taken off from an airport near the Uruguayan resort city of Punta del Este when the aircraft went down.

It was carrying eight passengers, the pilot and a co-pilot.

The two crew members and seven of the passengers were Argentine, while the other traveler was a woman from Portugal, the air force said.

The bodies have yet to be removed from the remains of the plane, which was headed to Argentina and crashed into a lagoon near the airport from which it had taken off.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known but air traffic controllers said they saw an explosion shortly after takeoff.