Girl, 9, Is Only Crash Survivor Associated Press

A 9-year-old girl who escaped a fiery plane crash with only a broken shoulder lay in a hospital bed Thursday, unaware she is the only survivor of the plunge that killed her parents and 50 other people.

Colombians were stunned that Erika Delgado emerged alive from the Wednesday night crash which scattered bodies and wreckage of the DC-9 jetliner across farmland and a swamp outside this Caribbean resort.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Civil Aviation Director Alvaro Raad Gomez. “This is a true miracle from God!”

The Intercontinental Aviation jet was descending after dark toward Cartagena’s airport when it plunged out of control. The crew didn’t have time to radio a distress call before the plane hit a field and exploded.

Erika landed in swamp vegetation, and farmers looking for survivors in the darkness heard her calls for help.

At a Cartagena hospital, doctors found she was unhurt except for her broken shoulder and some bruises.