The crash happened Wednesday in the rural area of the municipality of La Playa de Belen in the northeastern Catatumbo region, Colombian authorities said. The flight took off from the border city of Cucuta, and it lost communication with air traffic control around midday, shortly after departure.
Satena, the Colombian airline company that operates the flight, told reporters Thursday that it had not received any prior warning of adverse weather conditions that would have prevented the flight. The company said it was awaiting the results of a formal investigation as Colombia’s Civil Aeronautics Authority continued looking into the causes of the accident.
Colombia’s aviation authority said it had identified “permanent adverse weather conditions” at the crash site, while also stating that it is continuing to investigate what led to the crash. Satena’s president, Gen. Óscar Zuluaga, said communication between the crew and air traffic control was normal and defended the crew’s skill, saying the pilot had more than 10,000 flight hours.
Zuluaga also acknowledged that the area where the crash occurred is “high-risk,” where illegal armed groups operate, including the National Liberation Army, known as ELN. At a press conference with Satena, a journalist asked whether an armed attack could have been involved, and Zuluaga said the investigation will determine “whether there were any external factors that led to this outcome.”
Officials also reported on the response and recovery efforts. Colombia’s Civil Defense, the agency dedicated to disaster relief, said the body recovery operation had been completed after working throughout the night with the support of firefighters and the Red Cross.
Among those killed was Congressman Diógenes Quintero, who represented victims of Colombia’s internal armed conflict in the Congress and was seeking reelection in March’s upcoming legislative elections. Quintero was described as a renowned human rights defender in the Catatumbo region, where he served as regional ombudsman before becoming a congressman.
AP reported that Quintero was a lawyer by profession and had been elected in 2022 as one of 16 representatives in the lower chamber to represent more than 9 million victims of Colombia’s decades-long armed conflict, with the seats created as part of a landmark 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC. After the crash, Quintero’s death was mourned by members of Congress from across the political spectrum, and the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights described him as a “partner” in advocacy work for the protection of human rights in the region.
Also traveling on the flight were people from Quintero’s team and associated humanitarian work, including Natalia Acosta, Carlos Salcedo, María Alejandra Avendaño of the Norwegian Refugee Council, and Karen Liliana Perales of World Vision. Doctors Without Borders said in a statement Thursday that it offered its deepest condolences to members of humanitarian and social organizations who dedicated their work to serving communities.
Authorities did not provide a final cause for the crash. Instead, they pointed to ongoing investigation by the Civil Aeronautics Authority and left open whether factors such as weather, communications or other external circumstances contributed to the outcome.