By Antonio de la Jara
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - At least 10 people, including fourpeople exercising in a public park, were killed on Wednesdaywhen a small police plane crashed into a sports field inChile's capital, officials said.
The plane crashed shortly after taking off from a nearbyairfield. It had experienced technical difficulties and wasattempting an emergency landing on the field in Santiago'sPenalolen municipality, police said.
Police said the plane's six occupants, including two flightinstructors and four students aged 18 to 20, died on impact.
Another four people, including a mother and herfour-year-old child, died in the playing field as they tried toescape the plane that witnesses said nose-dived into the groundwhere they were exercising.
"I saw the plane hit some railings, I saw the flames and Isaw people I knew screaming ... The ladies were on the groundand we were throwing them wet towels," said Bernarda Espinoza,whose house sits 20 meters (yards) from where the Cessna planehit.
At least 10 people were also injured on the field, wherethe plane burst into flames as it crashed. Some 30grandmothers, mothers and children were doing aerobics on thefield when the plane came down.
"Grandmothers and children were doing aerobics. Most ofthem managed to escape, but some were trapped," one witnesstold local television.
Penalolen is a middle-class neighbourhood in southeasternSantiago that has seen rapid growth in recent years.
(Reporting by Antonio de la Jara, additional reporting byMonica Vargas and Pav Jordan, Editing by Sandra Maler)
