Plane missing in Venezuela with dozens aboard

The plane of the local airline Santa Barbara flew out ofthe high-altitude city of Merida headed for the capital Caracasand by late Thursday had been out of contact with air trafficcontrollers for hours, the civil aviation authority said.

Authorities had not identified the location of the plane inthe mountainous area and were sending search and rescue teamsto check its whereabouts, Civil Defense chief Antonio Riverotold reporters.

"This causes a lot of fear, a lot of pain," he said.

It was still not confirmed if the plane had crashed or wassimply missing, he added.

The state capital, also named Merida, is 680 km (422 miles)southwest of Caracas and is a popular destination for foreigntourists seeking outdoor activities such as hiking.

The plane was an ATR 42-300, a turboprop plane built byFrench-Italian company ATR, the civil aviation authority saidin a statement.

It is the second serious incident involving a Venezuelanpassenger plane in the country this year.

In January, a plane carrying 14 people, including eightItalians and one Swiss passenger, crashed into the sea close toa group of islands.

(Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel and Saul Hudson; Editing byStuart Grudgings)