Colombian passenger plane missing with 15 aboard

A passenger plane carrying 15 people lost contact with air traffic control on Wednesday while operating a domestic flight in northeastern Colombia, the country's state airline Satena said.

The Beechcraft 1900 aircraft, operating flight NSE 8849 on the Cucuta-Ocana route, made its last contact with air traffic controllers at 11:54 a.m. local time after taking off at 11:42 a.m. local time, Satena said in a statement, adding that the plane was carrying 13 passengers and two crew members.

Colombia's civil aviation authority said it has activated emergency protocols and launched a unified command post to gather information on the loss of communication.