Brazil plane crashes killing 19

The plane's wreckage was found 10 hours later

An aircraft has crashed in mountains near the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, killing all 19 people on board, local officials say.

The twin-engine turboprop plane disappeared from radar screens 20 minutes after leaving the city of Macae, 180km (112 miles) east of Rio.

It had been due to arrive at 1800 local time (2100 GMT) on Friday.

Local media quoted rural workers as saying they had heard an explosion after a plane flew low overhead.

Difficult terrain

The Czech-built Let L410 belonging to the Team airline was carrying 17 passengers and two crew.

The plane was found near Saquarema, 100km east of Rio, about 10 hours after it went missing.

Airline director David Farias confirmed there were no survivors. Some employees of the state-owned oil firm Petrobras were among the dead, he said.

Local officials said the remoteness of the crash site was hampering efforts to retrieve the bodies.