BOGOTA: Eight Colombian soldiers died when the helicopter transporting them on a humanitarian mission crashed near the border with Venezuela early on Sunday, authorities said.

The eight were on a mission in the eastern department of Vichada, President Gustavo Petro wrote on X.

The Air Force said the helicopter was found after a search in a rural area in the municipality of Cumaribo, adding there were no survivors. Images distributed by Colombian media showed the burnt wreckage of the aircraft in the middle of a grassland.

The families of the crew were receiving support while a recovery mission was underway, said the Air Force. It was not the first military aircraft crash this year in Colombia.

In April, nine soldiers were killed when their helicopter went down in the country’s north, and in February, four others died when a Black Hawk chopper crashed en route to an air base on the border with Panama.

Five police officers also died in February in a helicopter crash in northwestern Antioquia department.

Armed groups are waging a battle for territory and power among themselves and with the military in several parts of Colombia but they were not blamed for any of the earlier crashes. Some analysts point the finger at deteriorating military equipment as a likely cause.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2024