BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A small plane crashed Wednesday in a rural area of Norte de Santander province in northeast Colombia, killing all 15 people on board including a member of congress, authorities said.
Satena, the state-owned airline that operated the flight, said local officials in the community of Curasica notified authorities about where the plane had gone down and a rescue team was deployed to “assess the condition of the passengers.”
Colombia’s Transportation Ministry later released a statement saying that “once the aircraft was located on site, authorities regrettably confirmed that there were no survivors.”
The aircraft, which has a registration number of HK4709, took off at 11:42 a.m. from the airpo…
[12:51, 1/29/2026] Sheff Chibhira Ru: Death toll from floods in Mozambique and South Africa continues to climb
In Mozambique and South Africa, authorities are pressing ahead with rescue operations under challenging conditions as the death toll from floods continues to rise.
South Africa has sent a search and rescue team, including a helicopter, to help with Mozambique’s operations.
Since early October, which marks the beginning of the rainy season in Mozambique, more than 110 people have been killed in the country, according to the National Disasters Management institute.
Across the border in South Africa, the death toll has risen to 37, and authorities fear it will continue to climb.
It comes after weeks of heavy rain have lashed the two countries. Rivers across Mozambique have burst their banks, engulfing entire neighbourhoods and forcing thousands to flee their homes.
The floods have prompted President Daniel Chapo to call off his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Across the border in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa attributed the crisis to climate change, saying it underlined the need for funding for less privileged countries, often least equipped to deal with the impacts of severe weather.
