One witness said he saw black smoke pouring from one of the plane's three engines, and the plane then blew up.

Most of the wreckage was in an area about 200 feet by 50 feet. The biggest piece appeared to be about 50 feet long.

Leal said one piece of the jet was found six miles away. The RCN radio network said a body was found a half-mile from the main crash site. Several looters were caught removing. rings and gold chains from the corpses, policesaid.

The Extraditables is a shadowy group linked tothe notorious Medellin drug cartel. The grouptakes its name from the U.S. Justice Department'slist of 12 Colombian drug suspects most wanted inthe United States. The head of the Medellincartel, Pablo Escobar, tops the list.

Last week, authorities raided a jungle hideout,and Escobar reportedly came close to capture.

The Seattle-based Boeing Co. said it wassending a team of investigators to Colombia tohelp determine the cause of the crash