11 killed in Colombia military plane crash

Bogota, Aug 1 (IANS/EFE) Eleven Colombian air force personnel were killed when a plane went down in the northern province of Cesar, the military said.

The crash took place on Friday and he first official report about the crash came from Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos who said on Twitter that 12 people had died.

The defense ministry subsequently issued a revised death toll.

"A Casa 235 transport plane with registration FAC 1261 crashed in the zone of Las Palomas, Agustin Codazzi municipality, in Cesar province, with 11 crew aboard," the air force said in a statement.

Those who lost their lives were a major, a lieutenant and nine non-commissioned officers.

The crew of the aircraft, which took off from Palanquero airbase in central Colombia, "reported an engine failure", the air force said.

The Casa 235 is a turbo-prop transport and marine patrol aircraft developed by Spain's Construcciones Aeronauticas S.A. (CASA) with Indonesian firm IPTN.

--IANS/EFE

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