No survivors found after Colombian plane crashes with 15 people on board, including lawmaker
(CNN) — Colombian authorities found no survivors after a plane with 13 passengers and two crew members crashed on Wednesday, the country’s Civil Aeronautics Authority told CNN.
Colombian congressman Diógenes Quintero was among those on board, according to the party that had nominated him for the House of Representatives.
Quintero’s communications team said it lost contact with him and his assistant after the plane disappeared. The last registered location on their phones was Camilo Daza airport in Cúcuta “before takeoff,” his team said.
Quintero had been a member of the national legislature since 2022 and was a representative of the “special peace constituencies,” one of 16 seats in Congress meant to represent victims of violence, as part of the 2016 peace accords with militants of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
“Diógenes Quintero was a leader committed to his region, with a firm vocation for service and a deep sense of public responsibility,” Colombia’s U Party said.
The plane, operated by state airline Satena, lost contact with air traffic control shortly after takeoff, Transportation Minister María Fernanda Rojas said earlier.
It was flying from Cúcuta to Ocaña in the northeastern department of Norte de Santander.
Satena reported that it took off at 11:42 a.m. ET and was scheduled to land around 12:05 p.m., but its last contact with air traffic control was at 11:54 a.m.
The flight tracking site FlightAware shows the plane’s signal disappeared nine minutes after taking off from Camilo Daza airport.
Authorities found the crashed plane in a rural area of La Playa de Belén after a search involving multiple aircraft, officials said.
The governor’s office of Norte de Santander extended condolences to the families of the victims.
“We deeply regret the tragedy that occurred following the aircraft accident confirmed in the last few hours in the rural area of La Playa de Belén. We express our solidarity and heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and loved ones of the victims,” the office said.
The-CNN-Wire
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