Plane Carrying Lawmaker, Election Candidate And 13 Others Crashes In Colombia, No Survivors

Fifteen people, including a Colombian lawmaker and a legislative candidate, were killed on Wednesday when a small passenger plane crashed near the country’s border with Venezuela, the nation’s civil aviation authority and authorities said.

The Beechcraft 1900 twin-propeller aircraft, operated by state airline Satena and leased from private firm SEARCA, took off from Cúcuta in the Norte de Santander department and lost contact with air traffic control shortly before its scheduled landing in Ocaña around noon. All passengers and crew on board were killed, officials confirmed after wreckage was found.

Videos shared by BNO News on X show wreckage at the crash site, though News18 could not independently verify the footage or its exact context.

There

were 13 passengers and two crew members aboard the flight, identified as Satena Flight 8895. Among them was Diógenes Quintero, a member of Colombia’s Chamber of Deputies, and Carlos Salcedo, a candidate in the upcoming elections, both traveling with their teams, authorities said.

“We have received with concern the information about the air accident… where my colleague Diógenes Quintero, Carlos Salcedo and their teams were traveling,” local legislator Wilmer Carrillo said, urging calm as rescue operations shifted to recovery efforts.

UPDATE: Satena Flight 8849 crashed near Cucuta, Colombia with 15 people on board. Wreckage found. Currently no sign of survivors. pic.twitter.com/U2QOmx7Ywo

— BNO News Live (@BNODesk) January 28, 2026

The crash occurred over a remote, mountainous region near the border. The area’s rugged terrain and rapidly changing weather conditions — combined with dense jungle near the Catatumbo region — have historically made search and rescue operations difficult. Swathes of terrain in this part of northeast Colombia are also known to be controlled by the National Liberation Army (ELN), the country’s largest guerrilla group.