Rio de Janeiro, Sep 30 (DPA) Search for a Brazilian airliner that went missing with 155 people on board following an apparent midair collision with a small plane has been halted due to nightfall. Authorities plan to resume searches at dawn.

The Boeing 737-800 of the Brazilian airline Gol disappeared from air-traffic radar late Friday over the heavily forested northern state of Para.

"As soon as we have good search conditions, we'll resume the search again on Saturday," said Major General Carlos Vilela of airport administration agency Infraero, the Internet news portal G1 reported.

A Brazilian Air Force spokesperson said that the Gol flight collided with a two-engine Embraer Legacy, which lost at least part of a wing.

The small plane's pilot, described by the air force as a US citizen, was able to guide the aircraft to a landing on an airstrip in the Serra do Cachimbo region of Para state. It was not immediately known how many people were on board the private plane.

The flight had been scheduled for landing at 6.10 p.m. (2110 GMT) Friday. Foreigners are among the Gol flight's 149 passengers, according to media reports. There are six crew members.

There were reports that an explosion was heard over the Xingu Indio reservation, but a crash could not be confirmed. Authorities placed hospitals on alert in three nearby cities.

The plane was en route from Manaus in the state of Amazonas to the national capital Brasilia, the Brazilian aviation agency ANAC said, according to local media reports.

Five air force planes searched for several hours without success over the area where the flight went missing in Para state airspace.