Bogotá (EFE).- An Army helicopter collapsed this Sunday in a neighborhood in the city of Quibdó, the capital of the department of Chocó, in the Colombian Pacific, leaving the four people who were traveling in it dead.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro reported that “a few minutes ago an Army helicopter crashed in Quibdó while carrying out supply tasks,” in a message on his Twitter account.
Petro reported that “there were no survivors in the plane crash in Quibdó”, and that the deceased are Héctor Jerez, Julieth García, Johan Orozco and Rubén Leguizamón, all of them members of the Army.
“Within a supply operation (…) to bring food to all the soldiers who carry out missions in Alto and Medio Baudó, this tragic accident occurred,” the commander of the Titan Joint Task Force, Héctor Alfonso, told the press. Calendar.
The aircraft was “completely incinerated,” according to Candelario reported from the accident area, where there are still flames and two of the bodies have been found.
The other two “apparently and according to what the community saw jumped out of the helicopter,” according to the commander’s testimony.
The cause of the accident will be investigated.
In a widely distributed video on social networks, you can see how the helicopter crashes over the La Playita neighborhood, but in a wooded area, possibly due to a mechanical failure.
According to information provided by the Army, the first female UH1N helicopter pilot in the military, Lieutenant Julieth García, was traveling in it.
“I have given the order to the authorities to move immediately to the area to deal with the emergency and investigate the causes of what happened,” said the president.
The governor in charge of Chocó, Farlin Perea Rentería, sent a message of solidarity “to the relatives and friends of the members of the Colombian Army who were part of the supply work in the department.”
And at the same time, they reported that they are “supporting the pertinent investigations into the event that occurred today in Quibdó.”
A similar accident occurred last November, when a small plane belonging to the San Germán tourist company crashed in a residential neighborhood in the Colombian city of Medellín, causing the death of its eight occupants as well as damage to at least seven homes in a residential sector. .