A passenger aircraft operated by Colombia’s state-run airline Satena has crashed in northern Colombia, killing all 15 people on board, the airline confirmed on Wednesday.
Aircraft goes down near Ocaña
In a brief statement, Satena said its Beechcraft 1900 aircraft “suffered a fatal accident”. The wreckage was later located in a mountainous area in Norte de Santander, close to the Venezuelan border.
The aircraft, operating as Flight NSE 8849, had taken off from Cúcuta carrying 13 passengers and two crew members. Contact with the plane was lost 11 minutes before it was due to land in Ocaña at 12.05 pm local time.
Lawmaker among victims
The official passenger list includes Colombian lawmaker Diógenes Quintero Amaya and Carlos Salcedo, a candidate in the upcoming congressional elections.
Quintero held one of the 16 special seats in Colombia’s parliament reserved for victims of the country’s decades-long armed conflict involving the state and rebel groups.
A statement posted on Quintero’s Facebook page described him as “a man who throughout his life served those who needed it most”.
Search and recovery efforts
A large-scale search operation was launched in the rugged terrain where the aircraft went missing. According to William Villamizar, governor of Norte de Santander, seven bodies had been recovered as of Wednesday.
Colombia’s armed forces are assisting with the search in the region, which includes areas under the influence of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group. A hotline has also been set up for relatives of those on board.
President expresses condolences
Colombian President Gustavo Petro expressed his condolences on social media, saying he was “deeply sorry for these deaths”.
The cause of the crash has not yet been disclosed, and investigations are expected to follow.