Plane Crash into pieces in Colombia Kills At Least One

A Boeing 737 airliner a passenger plane with 131 people on board split in three during a crash landing at Colombia’s San Andres island after being struck by lightning.

Police said it was a “miracle” that only one person died, apparently from heart attack and 114 people get injury.The passenger jet, operated by local airline Aires, was reportedly hit by lightning before it crashed. The crash landed at 1:49 a.m. local time at Gustavo Rojas Pinilla airport on the Caribbean resort island, the national police said in a statement.

It had flown from the Colombian capital Bogota.

'Miracle'

A police statement said the plane's fuselage had broken up into three pieces.

The pilot reported that the plane was struck by lightning, Donald Tascon, deputy director of Colombia's aeronautics authority, said."We are inspecting the remains of the plane to try to establish what the damages were and what caused the accident," he told Reuters news agency.

Of 99 passengers taken to the Amor de Patria Hospital on San Andres, only four suffered major injuries according to the hospital director, Dr Robert Sanchez.

The 68-year-old woman who died is thought to have died from a heart attack.

San Andres Governor Pedro Gallardo described it as a "miracle" that so many survived.

"We have to give thanks to God," he said.

San Andres Island, about 120 miles (190km) east of the Nicaraguan coast, is a popular tourist destination.