Summary At least four people were killed when a plane crashed in Colombia near Panama border.
BOGOTA (AP) - A small plane has crashed in a remote region near the Panama border, killing four of six people aboard, the Colombian army said Saturday.
Local farmers reported the accident that occurred about 1 a.m. local time, said Gabriel Jose Olivares, mayor of Acandi in Choco department.
Gen. Nicasio de Jesus Martinez, commander of the army s Brigade IV whose troops traveled to the accident scene, ruled out any possibility that the plane was shot down by armed rebels still active in Colombia. "There was no aggression, no impact ... it was a failure," said Martinez. He added that it was too soon to know if the accident was caused by a mechanical failure, human error, or the weather.
In a statement confirming the four deaths, the army said two other occupants were injured.
Carlos Ivan Marquez, chief of the national office for disaster response, said the pair received first aid in a nearby community before being transported to Bogota for treatment of injuries that include multiple bone fractures and burns over at least 40 percent of their bodies.
Cesar Hernandez, disaster response director in neighboring Antioquia department, said earlier that he had received reports that five people on the plane were Americans and the sixth was Panamanian.
Civil aviation officials say they have no information about the craft because it is not civilian.
US Embassy officials did not immediately comment.
