A small aircraft has crashed in a rugged, hard-to-reach region of Chocó, in northwestern Colombia, according to local authorities. The mayor of Tadó, Juan Palacios, confirmed to a Colombian newspaper that the Cessna T206, registered as HK4985, went down somewhere between the villages of Tadocito and Jamaica while flying a route from Condoto to Guaymaral, near Pereira.
Five people were on board: the pilot and four passengers. Their condition remains unknown. “It was flying very low, too low,” the mayor said, adding that he hoped the plane would be found intact and its occupants safe. Firefighters, civil defense workers, and volunteers have mobilized to comb the mountainous terrain, though the search was temporarily suspended because of heavy rain in the area.
Colombia’s Civil Aviation Authority reported that the plane lost radio contact around 9:23 a.m. local time on Sunday, shortly after it had reached the VOR navigation zone near Pereira. Minutes later, an emergency beacon activated near Cerro Tatamá, a mountainous area known for its difficult access, prompting search-and-rescue protocols involving the national police, the army, and emergency responders.
As of this report, officials had not yet confirmed the crash site or the fate of those aboard, though authorities said updates were expected within hours as ground teams pushed further into the area.
For more details and updates as they develop, read the original report at El Tiempo.
Source: Alcalde de Tadó, Chocó, confirmó accidente de aeronave con cinco tripulantes: suspendieron búsqueda por fuertes lluvias (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Ken Lund, BY-SA 2.0 (via Openverse).