53 feared dead after plane hits mountain

Bogota - Police and rescue workers working through the night said yesterday they had found no trace of any survivors from the…

Bogota - Police and rescue workers working through the night said yesterday they had found no trace of any survivors from the crash outside Bogota of a Boeing 727.

Many Europeans, and possibly some Americans, were among the 53 people aboard the jet, which strayed off course and ploughed into the top of a 10,500 ft mountain shortly after takeoff from Bogota on Monday. Civil Aviation officials said the jet was well off course when it hit the mountain, exploding in a huge fireball. Debris from the plane rained down on Bogota's central Chapinero district. An official inquiry will centre on how it strayed off course.