All 15 people on board a small aircraft were killed after it crashed on Wednesday in a rural area of northeastern Colombia, near the border with Venezuela, Colombian authorities said.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Colombia confirmed that there were no survivors. The aircraft, operated by Colombia’s state-run airline SATENA, was carrying 13 passengers and two crew members.
The plane took off from the city of Cúcuta and lost contact with air traffic control shortly before it was due to land in the nearby town of Ocaña around midday local time, or 1700 GMT.
An aviation official said there were no survivors from the crash. The aircraft went down in the mountainous Norte de Santander region, an area known for difficult terrain and highly changeable weather conditions.
Colombian authorities ordered the air force to launch a search and recovery operation to locate the wreckage and retrieve the bodies.
Local official Wilmer Carrillo said one of the passengers was a member of parliament and a candidate for the attorney general’s office. The aircraft was identified as a twin engine Beechcraft 1900.
An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the crash.
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