A small airplane crashed Wednesday in a rural space of Norte de Santander province in northeast Colombia, killing all 15 individuals on board together with a member of congress, authorities stated.
Satena, the state-owned airline that operated the flight, stated native officers in the neighborhood of Curasica notified authorities about the place the airplane had gone down and a rescue staff was deployed to “assess the situation of the passengers.”
Colombia’s Transportation Ministry later launched an announcement saying that “as soon as the plane was situated on web site, authorities regrettably confirmed that there have been no survivors.”
The plane, which has a registration variety of HK4709, took off at 11:42 a.m. native time from the airport in Cúcuta, the division’s capital, certain for Ocaña, a municipality surrounded by mountains, on a flight that usually lasts about 40 minutes.
The plane’s ultimate contact with air visitors management got here minutes after takeoff, based on an announcement launched by Satena.
Officers didn’t present a trigger for the crash, however stated there could be an investigation.
The small airplane was carrying two crew members and 13 passengers, together with Diógenes Quintero, 36, a member of the Home of Representatives for Catatumbo, the airline stated.
Carlos Salcedo, a social chief who was operating for Congress, was additionally among the many victims.
Quintero was a famend human rights defender within the troubled border area with Venezuela, the place he was from and the place the accident occurred.
A lawyer by occupation, he was elected in 2022 as one in all 16 representatives within the decrease chamber to signify the greater than 9 million victims of Colombia’s decades-long armed battle.
The seats had been created as a part of a landmark 2016 peace settlement between the Colombian authorities and the nation’s largest guerrilla group referred to as the FARC.
His occasion, the U Get together, expressed their regret for his dying and stated he was “a frontrunner dedicated to his area, with a agency vocation for service.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro stated through social media: “I’m deeply saddened by these deaths. My heartfelt condolences to their households. Might they relaxation in peace.”
