Large cargo plane crashes in Colombia, killing 5 people

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By BNO NEWS

A large cargo plane operated by Aerosucre has crashed into a field in Puerto Carreño in Colombia’s eastern region of Vichada, killing all but one of the crew members, officials say. Five bodies have been recovered.

The accident happened at about 5:23 p.m. local time on Tuesday, just three minutes after the Boeing 727 aircraft took off from Germán Olano Airport. It crashed in a field in the municipality of Puerto Carreño, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the runway.

Colombia’s civil aviation agency said a total of 6 crew members were on board the aircraft, of whom only one survived. The sole survivor – identified as aircraft maintenance technician Diego Armando Vargas Bravo – was taken to an area hospital with serious injuries.

A statement from the agency identified those killed as captain Jaime Cantillo, co-pilot Mauricio Guzmán, flight engineer Pedro Duarte, flight dispatcher Felipe Vargas, and forklift operator Nelson David Rojas. Their families have been notified.

It was not immediately known what caused the crash, but video footage from a motorist who filmed a part of the accident showed the aircraft struggling to gain altitude as it tried to take off. It crashed a short time later.

The plane, with registration number HK4544, was scheduled to fly to the Colombian capital Bogotá.

Tuesday’s accident comes less than a month after LaMia Flight 2933 crashed in northwest Colombia, killing 71 people and injuring the only 6 survivors. The aircraft was carrying most of the Brazilian football team Chapecoense, which was flying to Brazil for the Copa Sudamericana finals.

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