A Uruguayan air force plane that crashed in Haiti killing 11 people lost contact with air traffic control before the fatal accident, investigators said Saturday.

The C-212 plane was part of the United Nations monitoring force in Haiti, known as MINUSTAH, and was carrying six Uruguayan soldiers and five Jordanians when it crashed.

"At around midday, as the plane was flying over the Ganthier municipality on a reconnaissance mission, air traffic control at the base lost contact," a statement released by the Uruguayan air force said.

"They alerted search and rescue teams and an airplane was dispatched to the area where air traffic last had contact with the plane, the wreckage of which was spotted from the air in a mountainous area about 20 kilometers west of the town of Fond Verrettes."

"Rescue teams were sent into the difficult-to-access area," the statement said, but all 11 of the passengers and crew on board the plane were found dead.

The Uruguayan air force is investigating the accident in coordination with United Nations authorities.

The Spanish-made plane, which was assigned to the UN mission in Haiti in April 2008 and was based in Port-au-Prince, "was used for medical air evacuation, transport logistics, personnel, aerial photography and day and night time patrols," the statement said.

The Casa-212 Aviocar is a light transport plane with two propeller engines, and is considered a versatile aircraft that can take off and land on short runways.

It can carry up to 23 paratroopers and can be adapted to transport 12 stretchers with patients or to carry out marine patrols.

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