A crashed Cessna aircraft with 10 Americans and two Costa Rican crew aboard was still smouldering when rescue workers reached the scene. "The government of Costa Rica profoundly regrets the deaths of 10 US passengers and two Costa Rican pilots in the air accident," which occurred in the country's northwestern Guanacaste region, Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis said in a statement posted to social media. A US State Department official said: "We confirm the deaths of multiple US citizens in an airplane crash in Costa Rica," adding that assistance was being provided to the affected Americans. Americans are by far the biggest group of tourists visiting Costa Rica. Former Costa Rican president Laura Chincilla -- Solis's predecessor -- said on Twitter that Retana, 52, was her cousin.

Source: Bangkok Post January 01, 2018 17:26 UTC