(Caracas, Venezuela) A charter jet with 152 listed passengers crashed in remote western Venezuela sometime after 0300 local time today. According to Francisco Paz, president of the National Aviation Institute, the plane was owned by West Caribbean Airways and was en route from Panama to the Caribbean island of Martinique when the pilot reported engine trouble to the Caracas airport.

Roughly 10 minutes later, when the plane was in the area of Machiques in the western state of Zulia, contact was lost and residents heard a loud explosion. Rescue teams have been dispatched. No information is available on casualties.