Venezuelan Presidential Advance Plane in Airport Mishap

A Venezuelan government plane carrying an advance team for President Nicolas Maduro suffered a mishap Wednesday when the aircraft's front tire blew on landing in Bolivia, officials said.

Fifty passengers and crew were safely evacuated from the U.S.-made Hercules C-130 in Cochabamba, 400 kilometers (240 miles) east of La Paz.

Maduro was expected in Bolivia on Thursday.

for regional talks with Bolivian President Evo Morales and Ecuador's President Rafael Correa.

The plane carrying his advance team landed early Wednesday, blowing out the front tire and damaging the landing gear, officials said.

"What is presumed is that the landing tire was in poor condition as the rubber was shredded all over the runway," Milton Claros, Bolivia's airports manager, told the news website of the Fides Catholic radio station.