France's civil aviation authority announced yesterday that all 153 passengers killed in a Colombian jetliner crash in western Venezuela earlier in the day were French citizens.

"According to our information, the 153 passengers were from Martinique," said a spokesperson of the French authorities in Martinique and the General Directorate for Civil Aviation (DGAC) in Paris.

Colombian officials had said earlier that the West Caribbean Airways plane, flying from Panama to Martinique, had been carrying 152 passengers and an eight-person Colombian crew.

According to the Martinique tour company that had chartered the MD-82 aircraft, Globe Trotters, the victims were returning home after a weeklong vacation in Panama.

France's air accident investigation office is reportedly sending three people to Venezuela and two to Martinique to investigate the cause of the crash.

In a statement, French President Jacques Chirac expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and to those close to them.

Colonized in 1635 and officially annexed in 1674, Martinique is now an overseas department of France, electing representatives directly to the country's legislature.

(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2005)