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Colombian military transport plane crashes, 11 soldiers dead

By Amy R. Connolly
Eleven members of the Colombian Air Force, including four officers, died after their military aircraft crashed Friday. Photo courtesy Columbian Air Force
Eleven members of the Colombian Air Force, including four officers, died after their military aircraft crashed Friday. Photo courtesy Columbian Air Force

BOGOTA, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- A Colombian military aircraft crashed after the engines failed Friday, killing all 11 of those aboard, the country's air force said.

The Airbus CASA-235 transport aircraft crashed in Agustin Codazzi, some 400 miles north of Bogota, after leaving Palanquero airbase. The search for the bodies of those aboard continued into Saturday morning. All aboard were air force personnel, four of them officers.

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President Juan Manuel Santos expressed sympathies in a tweet, "We are sorry for this terrible accident . . . Our condolences to their families."

Initial reports from witnesses indicated the the plane may have been struck by lightning, but officials later determined the cause was engine failure.

Earlier this year, Airbus came under fire after four of six people aboard were killed when an A400M transport plane crashed in Spain. Investigators found three of the plane's four engines failed shortly after takeoff on May 9. The fleet was grounded and deliveries stopped temporarily, and those restrictions have been lifted.

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