Local hospital says there were no survivors (Recasts, adds confirmation of deaths, changes sourcing)

BUENOS AIRES May 18 (Reuters) – An Argentine commercial plane crashed in the country’s remote Patagonian region late on Wednesday, killing all 19 passengers and three crew members on board, the director of a local hospital told reporters.

The plane, operated by regional airline Sol, sent an emergency call at 8:50 p.m. local time and was not heard from again, a statement from the company said.

“No one was found alive,” Ismael Ali, director of the Los Menucos hospital in the southern Argentine province of Rio Negro told local television.

He said charred remains of the plane were strewn around the crash site. “Everything is destroyed, burned, in pieces.”

The plane was a Saab 340 turboprop, which can hold 30 to 36 people. It went down near the town of Prahuaniyeu in a remote area with few roads.

“The possibility of finding survivors is minimal,” company spokesman Horacio Darre said.

Aeronautic authorities had no immediate comment.

REUTERS