Twelve people died during the crash of a plane in Colombia: the mayor of Taraira, among the victims

A DC-3 plane sank Saturday near the town of Villavicencio, in east-central Colombia, and its 12 occupants died, including the Mayor of Taraira Municipality, according to relief agencies, who in principle attribute the incident to engine failure.

"We have learned with pain an air tragedy today, a plane heading for Villavicencio, a medium-capacity aircraft, he was missing and was found destroyed (…) we are identifying the deadly victims "said President Iván Duque of Saravena Municipality, Arauca Department.

The aircraft registered under number HK-2494 and traveled between San José del Guaviare and Villavicencio, declared an emergency at 10:40 am local time (15:40 GMT) before falling in the rural landscape The Blessing.

The twelve occupants, ten pbadengers and two crew members, died. according to the civil defense.

"Unfortunately, according to information provided by relief agencies that have arrived in the region, there are no survivors", added Civil Aeronautica de Colombia in a statement.

Among the victims are the Mayor of Taraira Municipality, Doris Villegas, her husband and daughter, in addition to the owner of the aircraft, the pilotJaime Carrillo, the co-pilot, Jaime Herrera and an aviation technician identified as Álex Moreno.

The DC-3, a twin engine aircraft manufactured in the United States, He was flying for Laser Aéreo, a freight and pbadenger transport company.

Contacted by AFP the company refused to comment on the accident.

The plane fell into a Depopulated area surrounded by wax palms and adjacent to a road.

The camera caught fire, he told the AFP a firefighters spokesperson.

According to Colonel Jorge Martínez, director of civil defense of the Meta department, whose capital Villavicencio is, the accident could have come from the failure of one of the engines.

"At time to fly over the municipality of San Martin, a plane is cut for this plane and the pilot, thanks to his expertise, attempts to land (…) but it becomes uncontrollable"Martinez told the chain NCR

However, Civil Aeronautics did not indicate the reasons for this incident.

Relief sources initially excluded adverse weather conditions that could have triggered the emergency.

There was no "bad weather, no mountain or jungle" this would hinder the flight, added a fire chief under reserve.