Authorities have confirmed the death of two passengers of a Canadian-registered airplane reported missing on Saturday in the central Colombian state of Santander, authorities stated on Monday.
According to a statement released by the Colombian Civil Aviation Authority on twitter, the bodies of two unnamed passengers are “currently being evacuated from the scene, who regrettably perished in the event.”
The remains of the missing Piper PA- 31 airplane were located by a Colombian Airforce plane on Monday near the municipality of Onzaga, in the central state of Santander, approximately 14,000 feet above sea level, Colonel Carlos Silva told El Universal newspaper.
Missing Plane
Communication with the plane, which took off from the city of Bucaramanga in northeastern Colombia reportedly carrying two Canadian nationals, was lost at 2pm on Saturday in the mountainous municipality of Coromoro in the state of Santander, Caracol Radio reported.
The airplane, first reported to be working for the Colombian Government’s Geographic Institute Agustin Codazzi (IGAC) — a claim that the organization has denied –was carrying out airborne geophysics work for the Temporal Union (TPC), a statement by IGAC read.
Bad weather conditions in the region had slowed rescue efforts and forced authorities to search for the plane by terrestrial means.
Sources
- La Aeronautica Civil de Colombia (Twitter)
- Encuentran aeronave canadiense extraviada desde el sábado (El Universal)
- Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi aclara que avioneta desaparecida en Santander no trabaja para la entidad (IGAC Press Release)
- Identifican ocupantes de avioneta desaparecida en Santander (Caracol Radio)