5 Dead in plane crash in Colombia

Bogota, Agencias
Five people were killed Wednesday when a small plane crashed in the mountains near the northwestern Colombian city of Medellin, authorities said.

The twin-engine Cessna 206, operated by Compañia Nautica del Oriente, was carrying four passengers from Medellin to Vigia del Fuerte, a small town in Antioquia province.

The aircraft went down in the highland hamlet of Astilleros, southwest of Medellin.

Two of the four passengers were police officers assigned to the station in Vigia del Fuerte.

Air controllers lost contact with pilot Juan Guillermo Mondragon minutes after the plane took off from Medellin's Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport, civil aviation officials said.

A multi-agency team was dispatched to the scene to investigate the causes of the crash, the officials said.