Plane missing in remote jungle near Venezuela’s eastern border; Dense terrain and adverse weather hampered the search.
Published on January 28, 2026
Bogota, Colombia – Search and rescue teams in Colombia are searching for a passenger plane carrying 15 passengers that went missing near the eastern border with Venezuela.
According to local officials and media reports, two crew members were among the passengers, including a Colombian congressional representative and a candidate running in the upcoming election.
Recommended stories
3 List of itemsEnd of list
It is still unclear what caused it to disappear, but local air traffic control sources say the plane’s sudden altitude loss occurred 11 minutes before landing at Ocana in its flight history.
The flight, operated by the state-run commercial airline Satena, was en route from Cucuta to Ocana, two cities in the North Santander department bordering Venezuela, when it dropped radar coverage.
“@AerocivilCol’s Accident Investigation Directorate reports that it is collecting information about the loss of contact with flight HK4709 flying on the Cucuta-Ocana route with 13 passengers and 2 crew members,” Colombian Transport Minister Maria Fernanda Rojas wrote in a post on X.
“The relevant protocols have been executed, and we have already activated the PMU,” Rojas added, referring to the “unified command post” set up to respond to the emergency.
The plane disappeared in a remote area characterized by dense forest, complicating search and rescue efforts.
Among the passengers was Diogenes Quintero, a member of the Lower House who reserved seats specifically for conflict victims. He was accompanied by a candidate contesting for the same seat, Carlos Salcedo Salazar.
A local government official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, told Al Jazeera that authorities suspected the plane was affected by adverse weather.
Drug trafficking
The Catatumbo region is also an active conflict zone and home to the world’s largest cultivation of coca, the plant that produces the raw material used to make cocaine.
The drug trade and the region’s strategic location on the border with Venezuela have made it a historical center of armed conflict between rebel groups.
In January last year, violent clashes between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and Frente 33, a dissident group of demobilized FARC fighters, displaced more than 50,000 people in the region.
The route from Kukuta to Okana started in June last year itself, marking an important milestone for a region that has historically had poor road connections to major cities.