A Colombian military transport plane crashed in the country's north on Friday, killing all 11 personnel aboard.
The twin-engine CASA-235 reported a motor problem before it disappeared and its wreckage was found on a ranch in the province of Cesar, the air force sad.
Gen. Carlos Bueno, commander of the air force, said an investigation was underway but offered no clues as to what caused to the motor failure.
Local media said the aircraft was struck by a lightning bolt after taking off on an intelligence collection mission from a base hundreds of miles away in Puerto Salgar.
President Juan Manuel Santos sent a Twitter message expressing condolences for the "heroes" who lost their life.
Among the dead were four air force officers, the highest-ranking of whom was Maj. Adalberto Lombana.
"My heart is heavy with pain for the loss of these heroes who in fulfilment of their constitutional mandate have now flown much higher to join the heavenly squadron alongside the almighty," Bueno said in brief remarks.
___
This story has been corrected to show that the last name of the dead major is Lombana and that the plane took off from Puerto Salgar.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.