A private light aircraft crashed in Venezuela with Ukrainian model Sofia Komar and two local businessmen on board, Venezuelan news outlet El Pitazo has reported.
The crash happened on September 6 in Bolivar state. The plane had taken off from Canaima National Park and went down at the airport in Ciudad Bolivar.
Who was on board
According to a preliminary report from military and civil defense personnel, the passengers included local businessmen brothers Domingo Arnaldo Amaro Chacon and Guillermo Alfredo Amaro Chacon, two other men, and Ukrainian model Sofia Komar. Two pilots were also on the aircraft.
El Pitazo said all of the passengers were reported to have survived, though they sustained injuries. Details of their medical condition and where they are being treated have not been made public.
Investigation and refueling stop
Authorities have opened an investigation into the cause of the crash. A source cited by El Pitazo said the plane had landed in Ciudad Bolivar to refuel before continuing on to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital. Photographs released by the civil defense service show the underside of the aircraft partially burned.
Businessmen linked to fraud probes
El Pitazo reported that the Amaro Chacon brothers have featured in journalistic investigations into financial wrongdoing, as well as in a court case in Spain connected to associates of former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who led Spain's government from 2004 to 2011.
Ukrainian supermodel on a Venezuela trip
El Pitazo described Sofia Komar as a Ukrainian supermodel who has been published in Elle magazine. Photographs from her social media accounts show that the group had spent five days in Canaima National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site in southeastern Venezuela known for its towering tabletop mountains and Angel Falls, the world's highest uninterrupted waterfall. The group had stayed at the luxury Waka Wena hotel during the trip.
