A military helicopter has crashed during a supply mission, killing four people on board.
Black smoke is seen rising into the sky from beyond the brow of a hill as a spooked horse runs to the far end of its paddock.
The deceased have been named as Major Karol Felipe García Murillo, who was piloting the aircraft, Lieutenant Jhon Elder Barbosa Cruz, co-pilot, First Vice Sergeant Javier Elias Reino Badel, and Captain Darío Bernal Toloza.
According to the National Army of Colombia, the chopper was carrying out a troop supply mission when it crashed.
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It departed from Carepa, Antioquia Department, with seven people on board yesterday (5 Feb)
The copter, reportedly a Black Hawk, crashed near the Cuti Binational military base in Unguía in Chocó Department, which borders Panama.
The accident occurred while the aircraft was about to land.
A military spokesperson said: “Ground troops immediately travelled to the area where the incident was reported to carry out search and rescue work.”
Upon arrival, soldiers from the army’s Seventh Division discovered that four military personnel had died and three had survived with injuries.
The survivors are Deputy First Sergeant Jhonatan del Río, First Corporal Alejandro Gutiérrez Trejos, and private Galindo Suárez Prada.
General Luis Mauricio Ospina Gutiérrez, commander of the National Army, said: “I have ordered all necessary efforts to assist the personnel affected by this unfortunate situation.
“Likewise, we are establishing support for the families of our soldiers.”
A military probe into the cause of the crash is ongoing.
As it involves a binational base, the Colombian authorities are cooperating with their counterparts in Panama.
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