Plane Carrying 15, Including Politician, Found Crashed with No Survivors

All 15 Passengers Confirmed Dead

An aircraft that went missing just 12 minutes after taking off from Colombia was eventually found crashed. All passengers on board were killed in the accident, and reports indicate that a local politician was among the victims.

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On January 28 (local time), Maria Fernanda Rojas, Colombia's Minister of Transport, announced at a press conference, "Through search operations related to the loss of communication with the aircraft operating on the Cucuta-Ocana route, we discovered the wreckage of the aircraft in a village," adding, "There are no survivors."

According to the minister, the aircraft was carrying 13 passengers and 2 crew members, including the captain. The local daily El Espectador reported that politicians, including Assemblyman Diogenes Quintero, were on the passenger list. The aircraft was identified as a Beechcraft 1900, operated by the Colombian state-owned airline SATENA.

SATENA stated in an official announcement, "The aircraft took off from Cucuta at 11:42 a.m. and was scheduled to land in Ocana at 12:05 p.m., but communication with the ground was lost at 11:54 a.m.," noting that search operations were conducted in cooperation with authorities. In a separate statement, the airline confirmed that all passengers had died.

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined. Without specifying the exact reason for the crash, SATENA stated that "the aircraft's emergency locator transmitter did not activate."

At the press conference, Minister Maria Fernanda Rojas expressed condolences to the families of the victims and said that the Civil Aviation Authority would begin a technical investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

The Cucuta and Ocana regions are border areas adjacent to Venezuela, located in Norte de Santander, northern Colombia.