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BFF-06
HELICOPTER-ACCIDENT-COLOMBIA
Four soldiers killed in helicopter accident in Colombia
BOGOTA, Oct. 21, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) — Four Colombian military personnel
were killed on Saturday after their helicopter crashed in the mountainous
Cauca department of western Colombia, according to Colombian Minister of
Defense Guillermo Botero.
“We’re saddened by the passing of Major Pedro Granados, Captain David
Quintero, Sergeant Ramiro Santos and Corporal Eduardo Gutierrez, who were on
helicopter operations in Cauca. We are with their families and the glorious
Army. Peace for our heroes,” Botero wrote on Twitter.
Authorities report that the four men were in a Black Hawk helicopter and
had dropped a group of 20 soldiers in the rural town of Argelia, Cauca, where
they were taking part in anti-drug trafficking operations.
The accident occurred when the helicopter was carrying “a large quantity of
cocaine hydrochloride and a rifle” found in an illegal drugs lab, said the
minister.
Authorities have already begun an investigation to find out the cause of
the accident, Botero added.
BSS/Xinhua/MSY/0857 hrs