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Investigators are trying to determine why a Colombian airliner -flying from Panama to Martinique - crashed in Venezuela, killing 160 passengers and crew on board.

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Recovery teams looking for bodies have been wading in mud, hampered by heavy rains and difficult terrain.

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So far 135 bodies have been recovered, Venezuela's civil protection agency said

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There is little left of the aircraft, which crashed at a cattle ranch in a mountainous region near the Colombian border.

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It has emerged that the MD-82 had passed a "complete inspection" by Colombian authorities only one day before the crash.

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The victims were mainly government officials from the French Caribbean island of Martinique. Their relatives were expecting them to return after a holiday in Panama.

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Families and friends were initially left waiting anxiously for news about "delayed" flight WC 707, while word of the crash filtered through.

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France has opened a crisis centre for relatives of the victims. French President Jacques Chirac described the crash as a "shocking catastrophe", and offered his condolences to families and friends.