Santa Barbara Airlines flight left Merida bound for Caracas and was reported missing at 5:45 pm Thursday

The Santa Barbara Airlines flight left Merida bound for Caracas and was reported missing at 5:45 pm (2245 GMT) Thursday, Civil Defense Director General Antonio Rivero told AFP. The plane, a French-Italian-made twin-engine turbo-prop ATR42, was carrying 43 passengers and three crew, he said. Marquez said the plane was reported to have crashed at a point some 4,750 meters (15,600 feet) above sea level, near the La Pernada lake. It had apparently not sent any emergency signals during its flight, but alarms went out immediately after the aircraft failed to report to flight controllers monitoring the route, Marquez said. 'Immediately a search and rescue operation was launched. Early tomorrow (Friday) two M17 rescue helicopters will be deployed,' he added. Rivero said about 100 rescuers had been dispatched to search for the aircraft.