Martinique: the remains of 145 jet crash victims arrives by airplane

An Air France cargo airplane returned the remains of 145 plane crash victims home to Martinique on Saturday, more than two months after their jet crashed.

The victims' remains were kept in Venezuela since the Aug. 16 crash, while authorities worked to confirm their identities.

In Venezuela, authorities loaded 145 coffins onto the cargo plane, as well as plaques bearing the names of four victims who have yet to be identified.

Three other bodies had already been returned.

The victims had been returning in a West Caribbean Airways plane to the French Caribbean island after a trip to Panama when it crashed, killing all 152 passengers and the eight-member Colombian crew.

Shortly before the plane went down, the pilot had radioed authorities to report that both engines on the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 had failed.

The jet plunged to the ground in a remote area south of Maracaibo, shattering much of the fuselage and making the identification of victims particularly difficult, officials said, AP reports.