Suspected smuggling plane crashes in Colombia

Bogota, Aug 11: One person died when a small plane with Costa Rican registration crashed in the northwestern province of Choco, Colombia's civil aeronautics agency said.

The aircraft, a Cessna 182, fell to the ground on Sunday near Pizarro, a hamlet in a jungle area of Choco, which borders Panama, Efe reported.

"Apparently the aircraft was carrying out an illegal trafficking operation that is under investigation by the Aeronautics Authority, as it did not have a flight plan with a destination at any airport in the country," the agency said in a statement.

The pilot was the only person aboard and efforts are under way to recover the body, Luz Aida Cotes, government secretary of the Alto Baudo municipality, said.

Three people died Saturday when a small plane crashed in Cajica, outside Bogota.

Colombia has witnessed four aviation accidents since July 31, when the crash of an air force transport plane left 11 servicemembers dead. Last Tuesday, 16 police officers were killed when their Black Hawk helicopter went down.

IANS