DHAKA: An airplane has crashed in Bolivia`s northern Amazon region, killing at least eight of the 18 people on board.

The pilot and the co-pilot have survived but are in a serious condition.

The turboprop plane caught fire as it landed at around 16:00 local time (20:00 GMT) in the remote town of Riberalta, near the border with Brazil.

A spokesman for the Bolivian airline Aerocon said that the plane had suffered technical problems.

"As they were landing, on touchdown, the plane had some kind of problem that led to fire," spokesman Nelson Kinn told Agence France-Presse.

"The people who died sustained multiple injuries and burns."

The Fairchild Metroliner airplane was flying from the town of Trinidad to Riberalta, both in Beni department.

President Evo Morales expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims and ordered "a thorough investigation".

The accident took place in heavy rain.

Source: BBC
BDST: 0852 HRS, NOV 04, 2013
RS/BSK