In brief
A Beechcraft 1900 aircraft operated by Satena lost contact minutes before its scheduled landing in Ocaña, Colombia. The flight, NSE 8849, was carrying 13 passengers and two crew members. A search operation involving Colombia's armed forces is currently in progress in the mountainous region where the plane is believed to be missing.
A passenger plane with 15 people on board has gone missing in northern Colombia, state-owned airline Satena has reported. The contact with the aircraft, a Beechcraft 1900, was lost minutes before it was set to land in the city of Ocaña near the Venezuelan border at 12:05 local time (17:05 GMT) on Wednesday.
A search operation in the mountainous area is now underway, and a hotline has been established for the relatives of those on the plane. Local media indicates that a Colombian lawmaker may have been one of the passengers.
Satena confirmed that Flight NSE 8849 took off from Cúcuta, located about 100km (62 miles) northeast of Ocaña, with 13 passengers and two crew members. The aircraft lost contact at 11:54 local time.
The search operation involves Colombia's armed forces, as the region includes areas controlled by the ELN guerrilla group.
