All 15 people on board a passenger plane have been killed after the aircraft crashed in northern Colombia, the country’s state-run airline Satena confirms.
In a statement, Satena says its Beechcraft 1900 aircraft “suffered a fatal accident” while en route to the city of Ocaña, near the Venezuelan border. The airline provides no immediate details on the cause of the crash but confirms the wreckage has been located in a remote mountainous area.
Flight NSE 8849 had taken off from the city of Cúcuta, around 100 kilometres north-east of Ocaña, carrying 13 passengers and two crew members. Contact with the aircraft was lost approximately 11 minutes before its scheduled landing at 12:05 local time on Wednesday.
Among those killed are Colombian lawmaker Diógenes Quintero Amaya and Carlos Salcedo, a candidate in upcoming congressional elections. A statement shared on Quintero’s Facebook page describes him as “a man who throughout his life served those who needed it most.”
Quintero held one of 16 special seats in Colombia’s parliament reserved for victims of the country’s decades-long armed conflict between the state and rebel groups, including the now-demobilised Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
Search and recovery operations are under way in the crash area, with Colombia’s armed forces assisting due to the difficult terrain and security risks. Parts of the region are known to be under the influence of the ELN guerrilla group.
Governor of Norte de Santander, William Villamizar, tells local outlet Semana that seven bodies have so far been recovered. A hotline has been set up to provide information and support to relatives of those on board.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro expresses his condolences on social media, writing that he is “deeply sorry for these deaths”, as investigations begin to determine the cause of the crash.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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