Plane crash in Colombia kills 15, including politician

A Satena turboprop crashed in northeast Colombia shortly after takeoff, killing all 15 people on board, including local lawmaker Diogenes Quintero and a congressional candidate. The cause of the crash remains unknown after air traffic control lost contact 12 minutes into the short flight.

Nelson Bocanegra, Luis Jaime Acosta and Carlos Vargas/Reuters

29 January 2026 at 01:40:11

Plane crash in Colombia kills 15, including politician

A screen grab of photo posted by The Informant showing the wreckage of a Beechcraft 1900 aircraft, operated by the Colombian state-owned airline SATENA. There were no survivors after the plane, carrying 15 persons, crashed in La Playa de Belén, Colombia.

A screen grab of a photo posted on X by The Informant.

A plane crash in northeast Colombia on Wednesday killed all 15 people on board, including a local lawmaker, state-run airline Satena said.

The Beechcraft 1900 twin-engined turboprop plane took off before noon from Cucuta, on the border with Venezuela, for a short flight to the town of Ocana, Satena said.

Air traffic control lost contact with the plane 12 minutes into the flight, the carrier added.

Satena did not say what caused the crash and said the plane's emergency beacon had not been activated.

Lawmaker Diogenes Quintero and members of his team were aboard the plane, as well as Carlos Salcedo, a candidate for Congress ahead of elections in March, according to a passenger list released by the airline.

Images released by local media showed the crashed plane, including what appeared to be significant damage to the fuselage.

The area where the plane crashed is a mountainous region planted with coca leaves, the raw material for cocaine, and where illegal armed groups such as the National Liberation Army and a dissident faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia operate.

-Nelson Bocanegra, Luis Jaime Acosta and Carlos Vargas/Reuters