17 Colombian soldiers die in crash

A helicopter crash in Colombia's mountainous Andean region has killed 17 soldiers.

Seventeen Colombian soldiers have died after their Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter crashed in a central mountainous area of the Andean country, the army says.

The accident in the Caldas province, some 180 kilometres from the Bogota capital, occurred on Sunday when the helicopter was travelling from the jungle province of Choco to the Tolemaida military base, the army said on Monday.

"The first hypothesis suggests the accident could be related to bad weather in the area," it said in a statement.

Last August, 16 police officers died after a mechanical failure caused their US-made UH-60 Black Hawk to crash during an anti-drug operation in Colombia's northeast.


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Source: AAP



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