At midday on February 22, the missing police helicopter was located in Antioquía, Colombia. Farmers from the Caramanta region reported a loud roar in the area. This alerted the police authorities, who immediately began a search operation. State police confirmed the discovery of the vehicle and the unfortunate death of its occupants. It turns out that four agents from this facility lost their lives in this tragic plane accident. Find out all the details known about this incident.
A tragic flight
The Black Hawk 0614 aircraft took off from Medellín and was destined for Tuluá, in the center of the Cauca Valley. The helicopter was scheduled to undergo maintenance but was only able to fly normally for 10 minutes when authorities lost all communication with the crew on board. “In Santander de Quilichao (Cauca), I was informed of the loss of communication with the Black Hawk 0614 helicopter in the village of San Pablo, municipality of Caramanta (Antioquía). “I have established institutional capacity for the search with the support of our Colombian Aerospace Force,” reported William René Salamanca, Director of the National Police, on his Twitter account.
In turn, Juan Esteban Correa, mayor of the municipality of Caramanta, confirmed to Blu Radio Colombia that firefighters had arrived at the scene of the plane accident in the Vereda Conde area (Las Pajas sector). The police, whose operations center was located at Olaya Herrera Airport due to the weather, are also busy with operations to recover the bodies.
The police helicopter was located in Vereda Conde (Las Pajas sector) Photo: Blu Radio Colombia
What are the identities of the police officers who died on the flight?
Salamanca announced through its social networks the names of the police officers who lost their lives in the Black Hawk 0614 helicopter:
- Major Juan Carlos Morales Saenz
- Captain César Andrés Rodríguez Ospina
- Deputy Mayor Rafael Antonio González Roncancio
- Deputy Mayor Feder Alejandro Celis Núñez
Reactions to the tragedy
The Colombian Defense Minister, Ivan Velasquez He called the accident “very unfortunate news” and confirmed that “the trajectory in which this helicopter crashed has already been located.” Gustavo Petro He took to his social networks to send a message of regret over the news and highlight the important work of the deceased police officers. “A plane crash in Antioquía killed Major Juan Carlos Morales, Captain César Rodríguez, Deputy Mayor Feder Celis and Deputy Mayor Rafael González, who were on duty. “My deepest condolences go out to the families of these men who worked for a better country,” the president wrote.
Gustavo Petro regretted the police helicopter accident in Antioquía. Photo: Twitter
The word of the mayor of Caramanta
When asked about the possible causes of the accident, the city administration did not rule out any hypothesis. “There are no groups outside the law here, nor is there any evidence so far, but until the intelligence work of the police and relevant units is presented, we cannot confirm or exclude any facts,” Correa told Semana. At the same time, in the above interview, he also emphasized the region's complex environmental factors.
It is not the first accident involving a police helicopter in Antioch
Just 17 days ago, the loss of a National Army Black Hawk helicopter was reported in the community of Carepa. In this case, the accident occurred while the ship was conducting a supply mission. The rescue of the injured and deceased bodies required the cooperation of Panama, as the area lies on the border with that country. Major Karol Felipe García, Captain Darío Bernal Toloza, Lieutenant Jhon Barbosa Cruz and Sergeant Javier Reino were the fatal victims of this tragedy.