Fourteen people were killed in a plane crash in the Colombian plains 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 a.m. local time (1540 GMT).
The Douglas DC-3 aircraft impacted a rural dirt road near Villavicencio under unknown circumstances.
The aircraft fuselage forward of the wings was completely destroyed by the post-impact fire.
#ÚltimaHora Un avión DC3 HK2494 con 12 ocupantes se vino a tierra San Carlos de Guaroa y San Martín, la aeronave venía de San José del Guaviare a viilao, se ha conocido que una de sus ocupantes era la alcaldesa del municipio de Taraira – Vaupes Doris Lizeth Villegas Chará. pic.twitter.com/uYILpubgoY
— Camioneros de Colombia 🇨🇴 (@manfrip_74) March 9, 2019
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.
It crashed about midway through its flight, in San Carlos de Guaroa municipality.
The airline said it had no immediate comment.
In a later statement posted on Twitter, the agency named those who had died, including the mayor of a small town in the jungle province of Vaupes.
#InformaciónOficial | @AeroCivilCol publica lista de ocupantes de la aeronave accidentada esta mañana en inmediaciones de Villavicencio. pic.twitter.com/gdwOMUewWv
— Aeronáutica Civil de Colombia (@AerocivilCol) March 9, 2019
The aircraft’s navigability permissions were up-to-date, as were the medical certifications of its crew, the agency added.
The pilot made a distress call then lost contact before crashing in Meta.
Authorities have suggested an engine failure could have caused the crash.
The plane, a Douglas DC-3, is an American-made twin-engine propeller plane first built in the 1930s.
The distress call was made at 10.40am local time and authorities are yet to officially confirm the number of dead.
