Ap and Sputnik
La Jornada Newspaper
Monday, September 30, 2024, p. 32
Bogota. Eight crew members of a Colombian military helicopter died yesterday in an accident in the east of the country, reported President Gustavo Petro.
The eight members of the Colombian air force perished when the helicopter in which they were carrying out a humanitarian mission in the department of La Vichada, in the eastern part of the country, fell to the groundthe president lamented in his X account.
The Colombian air force had indicated earlier that it was searching for the helicopter Huey II registration number FAC-4441, with which he had lost communication.
The crew was carrying out an aeromedical evacuation mission in the municipality of Cumaribo, in La Vichada, about 750 kilometers east of Bogotá, the report added.
The commander of the Colombian air force, General Luis Córdoba, reported in a video broadcast on After follow-up work, the aircraft was locatedso a commission is carrying out investigations to determine the causes of the accident, he added.
It is not the first accident involving Colombian military aircraft so far this year.
In April, nine members of the army died in the north of the country when their helicopter crashed to the ground.
In February, four soldiers died in a helicopter crash black hawk when they were going to an air base on the border with Panama.
That same month, five police officers died when another helicopter crashed in the department of Antioquia.
In none of the cases were the armed groups responsible who have imposed a fierce war throughout six decades of internal conflict.
Some analysts point to the deterioration of military equipment as the cause of these accidents.
