A Peruvian air force Boeing 737 with 87 people on board chartered by the US firm Occidental Petroleum crashed in northern Peru, the Peruvian military and the US firm reported yesterday.
The oil company said at least 13 people were believed to have survived the crash, which occurred late on Tuesday.
Rescuers trying to find survivors and victims were being hampered by rain and rugged terrain in the Amazon region near the border with Ecuador, military officials said. Three rescue teams had arrived in the area to co-ordinate search and rescue efforts.
The airliner was flying from Iquitos, 1,005 km north-east of Lima, to Andoas, 312 km to the west, in Peru's oil-rich jungle region. It crashed some 5 km short of its destination.
The survivors were being treated at the crash site by rescue crews. Bad weather was preventing a helicopter from bringing out the injured, an Occidental Petroleum statement added.