The seven members of the Colombian military who died in a Tolima helicopter crash will be honored with military funerals in Bogota and Medellin Thursday, reports Caracol Radio.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and top military officials will attend the funeral of General Fernando Joya, at the Jose Maria Cordova de Bogota Military Academy.
The head of state will then attend the military funeral of Lieutenant Colonel Juan Gonzalo Lopera Echeverri in Medellin. Defense Minister Gabriel Silva and members of the Colombian army and police force are also expected to attend.
The details of the funerals of the other five military officials have not been released.
The seven men died after two Bell 222 helicopters crashed into each other Tuesday, near the town of Chaparral where armed forces are carrying out operations to capture FARC leader “Alfonso Cano.”
Five of the helicopters’ passengers died instantly, while two of the victims died of their injuries after being taken to a hospital.
“One of the helicopters had been tanking and took off without noticing the arrival of the other,” a witness to the accident told reporters.
President Alvaro Uribe expressed his grief over the loss of the soldiers.
“It hurts us deeply. Because of the sacrifice of the soldiers and policemen of Colombia, this country has improved,” Uribe said while speaking at the Universidad Autonoma de Occidente in Cali.
A team of inspectors was sent to the scene to investigate the accident.
Four surviving victims of the crash remain in a serious condition in a local military hospital.