A light aircraft crashed in the Venezuelan state of Bolivar. Two local businessmen, a Ukrainian model and two other passengers survived. According to the newspaper El Pitazo, there is no clear information about their health conditions.
The plane with the registration number YV2199 crashed on Sunday, September 6, in Ciudad Bolivar, shortly after taking off from the Canaima National Park. According to preliminary data from the state military and civil defense service, the passengers included Venezuelan businessmen Domingo Arnaldo Amaro Chacón and Guillermo Alfredo Amaro Chacón, as well as Raúl Fragosa, Michael Bradley and Ukrainian model Sofia Komar. The aircraft was flown by pilots Ernesto Maceda and José Gonzalez.
According to emergency services, the passengers were injured. However, authorities did not disclose their condition or the medical centers they were taken to. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Initial reports indicate that the plane had arrived in Ciudad Bolivar to refuel before continuing on to Caracas. Photos released by the Civil Protection Service show that the lower part of the plane was partially burned.
The identity of the Amaro Chacon brothers has received particular attention in the Venezuelan media. As El Pitazo previously reported as part of the Mapas de Poder investigative project, they are involved in a court case in Spain involving the country’s former Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
According to the investigation, the Amaro brothers are linked to commercial companies, financial transactions, as well as activities in the oil industry, gold mining and agribusiness. The documents examined by the journalists describe a network that connected Caracas, Switzerland, France, the United States, Panama and Madrid.
The names of the Amaro Chacón brothers have also been mentioned in reports by the Spanish Udef unit for the investigation of economic and financial crimes. According to the case materials, the companies associated with them could have transferred millions of euros through an increase in authorized capital, which aroused the suspicion of the Spanish authorities. The investigation indicates that part of these funds, most likely, appeared in companies associated with Zapatero's inner circle. At the same time, those involved in the case did not respond to El Pitazo's request for comment on the published accusations and documents.
