In brief
A passenger plane, operated by Colombia's state airline Satena, crashed in a mountainous region of North Santander, killing all 15 people onboard. Among the victims were lawmaker Diógenes Quintero Amaya and congressional candidate Carlos Salcedo. The aircraft lost contact before its scheduled landing in Ocaña on Wednesday. The Colombian government is deploying armed forces to aid in search operations in the challenging terrain.
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 the upcoming congressional elections. Satena earlier stated that contact with the plane was lost 11 minutes before it was scheduled to land in the city of Ocaña, near the Venezuelan border, at 12:05 local time (17:05 GMT) on Wednesday. The flight NSE 8849 took off from Cúcuta, carrying 13 passengers and two crew members.A search operation has been launched, and a hotline was established for relatives of those on the plane. Local news sources indicate that seven bodies have already been recovered. Colombia's armed forces have joined the search effort in areas controlled by the ELN guerrilla group. President Gustavo Petro expressed his condolences, stating he was 'deeply sorry for these deaths,' as tributes poured in for Quintero, recognized for his service to vulnerable communities.
