Afət Ziyadqızı
A Colombian Armed Forces UH-60 Black Hawk military helicopter crashed while carrying personnel and supplies along the route between the city of Popayan and the town of Inza.
“Operative Information Center-OMM” reports that, according to Colombian media, 19 people aboard were injured, including four crew members and 15 service personnel.
Four of the injured military personnel were found to have bone fractures of varying severity, while the other 15 received emergency medical care for various injuries and impact-related trauma. Military rescue teams and emergency medical crews were dispatched to the scene, and the injured were evacuated to a nearby military hospital.
Colombia’s Ministry of Defense said a special investigative commission had been established to determine the cause of the crash.
Inza, in the department of Cauca where the helicopter crashed, is considered a strategic corridor controlled by illegal armed rebel groups, including the Central General Staff (EMC), formed by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who rejected the peace agreement, and the radical National Liberation Army (ELN).
Military officials nevertheless stressed that an initial inspection had found no trace or sign that the helicopter had been fired upon from the ground, despite high security risks in the region. The crash is believed to have been caused by severe adverse weather or an unexpected technical failure.
