MALABO, Equatorial Guinea (AP) – A Russian-made plane believed carrying more than 50 passengers and crew has crashed in a forest in Equatorial Guinea, killing all aboard and leaving bodies scattered, officials said Sunday.

Government spokesman Alfonso Nsue Mokuy said the Antonov 32 plowed into dense woods 18 miles south of the capital, Malabo, shortly after leaving the city’s airport Saturday for the southern town of Bata.

“There are no survivors. The plane crashed in the trees and is completely burned,” he said. Wreckage was strewn for hundreds of yards, he said.

There was confusion about the number of crew and passengers aboard the plane operated by the Equatorial Guinea-registered company Equatair.

Mokuy said the plane was carrying 60 people. But Transport Minister Bametreo Elo Mbong earlier estimated 55 passengers and crew were aboard, but warned the true number might never be known.

Plane wreck off Costa Rican coast leaves six dead

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) – A small plane piloted by the son of a former owner of the San Jose Sharks hockey team crashed off the Pacific Coast, killing six people, authorities said Saturday. No survivors were reported.

The pilot was Greg Gund, 32, said Miguel Corrales, an official with the Costa Rica Coast Guard. Acquaintances said Gund had lived for about five years in a village about 6 miles south of the crash site, where he operated a gym.

George Gund, former owner of the California hockey team, told The Associated Press that he held out little hope that his son had survived.

Indonesia, Aceh rebels to sign peace agreement

HELSINKI, Finland (AP) – The Indonesian government and Aceh rebels agreed Sunday to sign a formal peace agreement next month, vowing to end a 29-year conflict that has killed 15,000 people in the tsunami-ravaged province.

The peace deal – which will allow reconstruction aid for victims of the Dec. 26 natural disaster – is to be signed Aug. 15 in Helsinki, the two sides said after wrapping up the fifth and final round of talks in the Finnish capital.

In a joint statement, the two sides said the agreement covers the governing of Aceh province and rebel participation in the political process. It also contains an amnesty for the separatist rebels and the establishment of an Aceh monitoring mission consisting of unarmed European Union and Southeast Asian observers.


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