Five people who stole a plane from a hangar in Argentina’s Chaco province died this Wednesday (18) in the plane’s crash and fire, where a gun and money were found.
The Cessna 206 crashed shortly after takeoff 7km from Villa Angela, the third largest city in the Chaco region, bordering Paraguay.
“If it crashed in the city, it would be a tragedy,” prosecutor Sergio Ríos, who was in charge of investigating the accident, told local press.
At the scene, they found a 9mm handgun, money in Paraguayan currency (Guarani) and a Cerro Porteño hat, leading investigators to believe the criminals could be Paraguayans.
“We have already communicated with the Jiaac (Junta de Investigação de Acidentes de Aviação Civil) and protected the place, except for the removal of the bodies,” the prosecutor told Argentina’s radio LT7. He warned that identifying the victims will be difficult as the plane caught fire in the crash.
Two farm workers watched as the plane lost altitude, crashed to the ground and burst into flames, and then they called the police, the Norte de Chaco newspaper reported.
“They explained to me that the plane has a hidden locking system and when they took off they forgot to open that ‘valve’ and they ran out of gas. Not everyone knows where this fuel passage is,” Ríos explained.
The singleengine fiveseater, which was stolen early Wednesday, belonged to an agricultural contractor in the area who recently bought the plane. The promoter estimated the cost at US$1.5 million (over R$7.7 million).
A satellite phone was also found on the plane, which would point to “a specific organization”. According to prosecutors, the group had “very significant logistics” in that they managed to bypass a series of “sophisticated” alarms to carry out the theft.
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