Bogota: 14 people, including a mayor and her family, were killed when a plane crashed in the Colombian province of Meta on Saturday, the country’s civil aviation agency said.
The Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics said there were no survivors of the crash, which occurred after the DC-3 aircraft made a distress call at 10:40 am (local time).
The plane, which is owned by Laser Aereo airlines, was en route from the southern city of San Jose del Guaviare to central Villavicencio, the agency said.
Among the victims was the mayor of the municipality of Taraira, Doris Villegas, and her husband and daughter, as well as the owner of the aircraft, pilot Jaime Carrillo, co-pilot Jaime Herrera and an aviation technician identified as Alex Moreno.
President of Columbia Ivan Duque paid tribute to the victims on Twitter. “My solidarity with the families,” he wrote.
#Saravena Nos informan que una aeronave se accidentó cerca a Villavicencio, en la vereda La Bendición, y que, lamentablemente, sus ocupantes fallecieron. Ordené a la @AeroCivilCol y @FuerzaAereaCol ayudar en proceso de rescate de los cuerpos. Mi solidaridad con las familias. pic.twitter.com/1wxVKzpqr3
— Iván Duque (@IvanDuque) March 9, 2019
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