BOGOTA, Sept 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least seven people were killed and
another three injured when a small plane crashed in southwestern Colombia on Sunday.
“Nine people were on board the plane. Seven died, while two are seriously
injured,” Juan Carlos Ganan, the commander of firefighters in the area, said.
The third person injured was a child on the ground in the area where the
plane crashed, Ganan said.
The incident occurred just a few minutes after the aircraft, which was operated by a local company named Transpacifico, took off from the airport in Popayan, a city of about 270,000 people surrounded by mountains.
The plane, which crashed at 2:11pm, was headed to Lopez de Micay, also in Cauca department.
The cause of the crash was not known and an investigation was under way,
Ganan said.
Colombia’s civil aviation authority said in a statement it was investigating the cause of the crash.
Photographs on social media showed parts of the airplane scattered on the roof of houses in the area. Popayan mayor Cesar Gomez said he had convened a working group to assist affected residents. — NNN-AGENCIES
