Plane Crash Kills Lawmaker, Election Candidate, 13 Others In Northern Colombia

All 15 people aboard a passenger aircraft have died following a crash in northern Colombia, according to the country’s state-owned airline, Satena.

In an official statement, Satena said its Beechcraft 1900 plane was involved in a deadly incident while flying to Ocaña, a city close to the Venezuelan border. The airline did not immediately disclose what led to the crash but said the wreckage has been found in a hard-to-reach mountainous location.

The aircraft, operating as Flight NSE 8849, departed from Cúcuta, roughly 100 kilometres northeast of Ocaña, with 13 passengers and two crew members on board. Communication with the plane was lost about 11 minutes before its expected arrival time of 12:05 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

Those who died include Colombian legislator Diógenes Quintero Amaya and Carlos Salcedo, who was contesting in an upcoming congressional election. In a message posted on Quintero’s Facebook page, he was remembered as someone who dedicated his life to supporting vulnerable people.

Quintero occupied one of the 16 special congressional seats allocated to victims of Colombia’s long-running internal conflict involving government forces and rebel movements, including the now-disbanded Farc group.

Authorities have launched search and recovery efforts at the crash site, with support from the armed forces because of the difficult terrain and security concerns. Sections of the area are reported to have a presence of ELN guerrilla fighters.

Norte de Santander Governor William Villamizar told local media outlet Semana that seven bodies had been recovered so far. Officials have also opened a hotline to assist and provide updates to families of the victims.

President Gustavo Petro offered his sympathies in a social media post, saying he was deeply saddened by the loss of lives, as investigators worked to establish the cause of the accident.