At least 16 members of Colombia’s military are feared dead after the helicopter they were traveling in accidentally crashed in the heart of the country, the country’s military commander said Monday.
Armed Forces commander General Alberto Jose Mejia told press the helicopter crashed in Pensilvania, Caldas on Sunday.
The military earlier said the soldiers had carried out a military operation in the western Choco province and were on their way back to the Tolemaida base in central Colombia.
However, the aircraft was last heard of when flying some 35 miles from Mariquita, Tolima.
Once the crashed helicopter was located, authorities sent rescue workers to the site. Meanwhile there is insecurity about the fate of the men on board the helicopter.
Some 100 rescue workers were sent to the site while hospital personnel in the town of Mariquita have been at the highest alert in case survivors are found.