A Venezuelan plane crashed yesterday on a domestic holiday flight killing at least 14 people, but most of the 51 people on board survived the crash, officials said.

“A total of 33 people are being cared for at different clinics,” said Francisco Rangel Gomez, governor of Bolivar state, where the accident occurred.

“We have 14 bodies that are being identified,” he added.

The Conviasa Airline plane was en route to the resort city of Isla Margarita when it went down about 10 kilometres from Puerto Ordaz, carrying 47 passengers and four crew.

Mr Gomez earlier told reporters the plane’s crew had been in contact with a control tower before the accident, which he said was apparently caused by “loss of control” of the plane.

Civil protection official José Garcia said local hospitals had been put on alert and a special burns unit was on stand-by.

ATR aircraft like the one that crashed yesterday are made by a European consortium composed of EADS and Alenia. Founded in 1981, the joint group struggled in the early part of the decade to remain competitive as the price of oil fell below $30 a barrel.

But the firm’s relatively fuel-efficient aircraft made a comeback as the cost of fuel rose in recent years. The firm based in Toulouse, France employs some 850 people and is considered a global leader in the manufacture of small turbo-propelled planes with 50-75 seats, with some 52 per cent of the market.

It has received over 1,000 orders from 150 companies in 80 countries since its creation, and made around €1.1 billion in 2009.

One of the world’s deadliest airplane crashes ever, a 2005 accident that killed 160 people, happened in Venezuela.

The flight was travelling to Martinique, and the majority of those killed – 152 of the passengers – were from the small island. The accident was caused by human error, an investigation into the disaster later concluded.