A second Colombian soldier has died in Afghanistan, in the explosion of an antipersonnel mine, local media reported Tuesday.
Gustavo Rios Ordoñez, a 25-year-old Colombian from Pereira, died in the city of Kandahar while serving as part of the U.S. army, as the result of one of his companions stepping on a mine, newspaper El Espectador reported. Two other members of the military died in the explosion.
According to U.S. media, the soldier’s death took place on June 20, and on Tuesday, residents of the town of Eaton, Ohio, where Rios Ordoñez lived, gathered to pay their respects to the fallen soldier, who left behind his parents, his wife, and two daughters.
The death of Ordoñez is the second Colombian death that has occurred recently as part of the Afghanistan war.
On Monday, Spain’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that female Colombian soldier Niyireth Pineda Marin died over the weekend, also in an explosion, while serving in Afghanistan as part of the Spanish army.