Cause of plane crash in Colombia that killed 15, including Congress member, under investigation

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian airline company Satena said Thursday it had not received any prior warning of adverse weather conditions that would have prevented the flight of a plane that crashed and killed 15 people, but that it is awaiting the results of a formal investigation.

The aircraft, which crashed in the rural area of the municipality of La Playa de Belen in the northeastern Catatumbo region, lost communication with air traffic control around midday on Wednesday, shortly after taking off from border city Cucuta.

Satena’s president, Gen. Óscar Zuluaga, said that communication between the crew and air traffic control was normal. He defended the crew's skill and said the pilot had more than 10,000 flight hours.

Colombia's Civil Aeronautics Authority is still investigating the cause of the crash.

The aviation authority stated Wednesday that it had identified “permanent adverse weather conditions” at the crash site. However, it clarified that it is continuing to investigate the causes of the accident.

Colombia's Civil Defense, the agency dedicated to disaster relief, reported on Thursday that the body recovery operation had been completed after working throughout the night with the support of firefighters and the Red Cross.

At a press conference with Satena, a journalist questioned the possibility of an armed attack given the presence of illegal armed groups, such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), in the area.

Zuluaga recognized that the area is “high-risk," but said the investigation will determine “whether there were any external factors that led to this outcome.”

Who were the victims?

Among the passengers was congress member Diógenes Quintero, who represented the victims of the internal armed conflict in his region and was seeking reelection in the upcoming legislative elections in March.

Quintero was a renowned human rights defender in the Catatumbo region, where he served as the regional ombudsman before becoming a congressman.

A lawyer by profession, he was elected in 2022 as one of 16 representatives in the lower chamber to represent the more than 9 million victims of Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict. The seats were created as part of a landmark 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the country’s largest guerrilla group known as the FARC.

His death has been mourned by members of Congress from across the political spectrum, as well as by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, which described him as a “partner” in advocacy work for the protection of human rights in the region.

Also traveling were members of Quintero’s team, including Natalia Acosta; Carlos Salcedo, a social leader who was also running for Congress to represent victims of the armed conflict; María Alejandra Avendaño, an employee of the Norwegian Refugee Council; and Karen Liliana Perales, from World Vision.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the members of the humanitarian and social organizations who dedicated their work to serving the communities,” Doctors Without Borders said in a statement on Thursday.

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