Eight Colombian soldiers tragically lost their lives when their helicopter crashed during a humanitarian mission near the Venezuela border early Sunday.
The soldiers were operating in the eastern department of Vichada, as noted by President Gustavo Petro on X.
http://twitter.com/petrogustavo/status/1840401269833269611The Colombian Air Force confirmed that the helicopter was located after a search in a rural area of Cumaribo, with no survivors found.
Colombian media released images showing the burnt wreckage of the aircraft in a grassy field. The Air Force stated that support was being provided to the families of the crew while a recovery mission was underway.
This incident marks the latest in a series of military aircraft crashes in Colombia this year.
In April, nine soldiers were killed when their helicopter went down in the north, and in February, four soldiers died in a Black Hawk crash while en route to an airbase on the Panama border.
Additionally, five police officers perished in a helicopter crash in northwestern Antioquia in February.
While armed groups are engaged in territorial battles across various regions of Colombia, they have not been implicated in these earlier crashes.
Some analysts suggest that deteriorating military equipment may be a contributing factor.
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