Swiss plane plunges into sea

A Swiss-registered plane carrying more than 40 people has crashed into the sea off the coast of Libya, according to Swiss officials.

A Swiss Transportation Ministry official said there were unconfirmed reports that 15 people had been killed.

The plane, which was transporting oil workers from the Libyan capital Tripoli to an oil refinery, is owned by a Swiss-based company, Avisto.

Various nationalities

According to the company, the plane had been leased to Sirte Oil Co in Libya to transport workers between its headquarters and various oil fields.

"There were 38 passengers of various nationalities as well as two pilots and one flight attendant on board," the company said in a statement

"The accident happened around 1135 GMT during a flight from Tripoli to Marsa el-Brega. According to our information, the plane made an emergency landing in the water for unknown reasons shortly before landing in Marsa el-Brega," it said.

Hit the water and sank

A Swiss official said shortly before Marsa el-Brega airport, the pilot reported that both engines had stopped working.

"The plane hit the water just off the Libyan coast and sank," Swiss Transportation Ministry spokesman Hugo Schiltenhelm said.

"A search for survivors and for the aircraft is under way. Nothing can yet be said about the exact number of victims," he said.

Swiss officials say they are sending an air accident investigator to Libya on Friday. He is flying from the United States, where he has been investigating the 1998 crash of a Swissair plane off the Canadian coast in which 229 people died.

Marsa el-Brega is Libya's main centre for producing petrochemicals and is operated by the National Petrochemicals Company (NAPECTCO).

On Monday, a plane operated by the Swiss regional company Crossair crashed two minutes after take off from Zurich airport, killing all 10 people aboard.