No survivors as plane carrying 15 people crashes in Colombia

Colombian authorities on Wednesday (28 January) located a missing plane carrying 15 people in the northeast of the country, with no survivors found, an Air Force source and local media said.

A Beechcraft 1900 twin-engined turboprop plane operated by Colombia’s state-owned airline Satena crashed in northeast Colombia on Wednesday after losing contact with air traffic control, authorities said.

The aircraft, operating flight NSE 8849, took off from Cucuta near the Venezuelan border at around 11:42 a.m. for a short flight to the town of Ocana. Contact was lost 12 minutes into the flight. 

The plane was carrying 15 people, 13 of whom were passengers and two crew members.

Among those onboard were lawmaker Diogenes Quintero and Carlos Salcedo, a congressional candidate ahead of March elections, according to a passenger list released by the airline and confirmed by local media.

Images of the crash site released by local media showed significant damage to the aircraft’s fuselage. Satena said the plane’s emergency beacon had not been activated and the cause of the crash is currently unknown.

The aircraft went down in a mountainous region known for coca cultivation and the presence of illegal armed groups, including the National Liberation Army (ELN) and dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Colombian aviation and military authorities launched a search and rescue operation shortly after contact with the plane was lost.

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