A small aircraft crashed in a rural area of Colombia’s Norte de Santander department on Wednesday, killing all 15 people on board, including a local lawmaker, authorities said.
The plane, operated by the state-owned airline Satena, went down near the community of Curasica in the country’s north-east. Local residents alerted authorities to the crash site, prompting the deployment of rescue teams.
Colombia’s Ministry of Transport later confirmed that there were no survivors.
The aircraft, registered as HK4709, departed from the city of Cúcuta at 11.42am local time and was heading to Ocaña, a mountainous municipality about 40 minutes away by air.
Satena said the aircraft lost contact with air traffic control just minutes after take-off.
The cause of the crash has not yet been determined. Authorities said an investigation would be launched.
The plane was carrying two crew members and 13 passengers. Among them was Diógenes Quintero, a member of Colombia’s lower house of Congress. Members of his team were also on board, along with Carlos Salcedo, a candidate in the upcoming congressional elections in March.
In a statement posted on social media, Quintero’s team confirmed his death and that of Natalia Acosta, a close associate.
“Today, life took two members of this team,” the statement said. “Diógenes Quintero, a man who dedicated his life to serving those most in need, and Natalia Acosta, who cared for everyone around her and brought joy wherever she went.”
Quintero was a prominent human rights defender in the border region with Venezuela, where he was born and where the crash occurred.
A lawyer by training, he was elected to Congress in 2022 as one of 16 representatives chosen to speak for victims of Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict. The seats were created under a 2016 peace agreement between the government and the former guerrilla group FARC.
His political party, the U Party, expressed its condolences, describing him as “a leader committed to his region, with a firm vocation for service”.
President Gustavo Petro said he was “deeply sorry” for the deaths.
“My full solidarity goes to their families,” he wrote in a post on X. “May they rest in peace.”
Vice President Francia Márquez also expressed her condolences, saying the loss had plunged the country into mourning.
