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BOGOTA, Jan 30 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A passenger plane has crashed in northern Colombia, killing all 15 people on board, the country’s state-run airline Satena confirmed.
In a statement, it said its aircraft – a Beechcraft 1900 – “suffered a fatal accident”, but gave no further details. The wreckage has now been located in a mountainous area.
The official passenger list includes lawmaker Diógenes Quintero Amaya and Carlos Salcedo, a candidate in upcoming congressional elections.
Satena earlier said contact with the plane was lost 11 minutes before it had been scheduled to land in the city of Ocaña, near the Venezuelan border, at 12:05 local time on Wednesday.
According to the airline, Flight NSE 8849 took off from the city of Cúcuta, about 100km north-east from Ocaña, carrying 13 passengers and two crew members.
A search operation has been launched in the mountainous area, and a hotline was set up for the relatives of those who were on the plane.
Speaking to local news outlet Semana, governor of Norte de Santander William Villamizar said seven bodies have been recovered.
Colombia’s armed forces have been helping with the search effort in the area where the plane went missing, which has areas controlled by Colombia’s ELN guerrilla group.
The country’s president Gustavo Petro expressed his condolences to the families of the victims on X, writing “I am deeply sorry for these deaths”.
A statement acknowledging Quintero’s death has been shared from his Facebook page, describing him as “a man who throughout his life served those who needed it most”.
Quintero held one of 16 seats in Colombia’s parliament intended to represent victims of conflict between the Marxist rebel army, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), and the Colombian state. — NNN-AGENCIES