Plane Crashes into Ecuador Tyre Factory

A plane carrying 14 people crashed into the side of a tyre factory in the southern Ecuadorean city of Cuenca, killing five aboard and injuring nine, according to local authorities.

“The plane crashed against a tyre factory in an industrial park near the airport,” Red Cross spokesman Galo Verdugo told The Associated Press. The aircraft was reportedly carrying 12 passengers with two crewmembers from Cuenca to Macas in Ecuador’s southeastern jungle.

Tyre factory workers were said to have been having lunch in another area of the factory when the plane hit, and so none was injured, witnesses reported.

Reports are not clear about exactly which factory was struck by the plane. However, Ecuador’s largest tyre manufacturer, Capacity Compania Ecuatoriana de Caucho S.A. is based in Cuenca and produces approximately 2 million agricultural, light truck, and truck and bus cross-ply tyres annually.