At least six dead in military plane crash in Bolivia

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Six people were killed today (10) when a Bolivian Air Force plane fell to the ground shortly after taking off in the town of Riberalta, after which the Government ordered the corresponding agencies “to clarify the causes of the accident”.

The president o Bolivia, Luis Arce, said on Twitter that they were “dismayed by the plane crash in Pando, in which six people lost their lives”.

“We have instructed the corresponding authorities to clarify the causes of the incident. We express our condolences to the families of the victims,” added the Bolivian president.

According to the Bolivian Information Agency (ABI), the Bolivian Air Force (FAB) aircraft went down at about 8:50 a.m. today when “it was on a support flight for health professionals who had to urgently get to the city of Cobija (Pando) to board a connecting commercial flight”.

The aircraft was a “Cessna C-206 registration FAB-320, assigned to the “62” Air Group of Riberalta”.

The Bolivian Government confirmed tonight that the Aeronautical Accidents Investigation Board has begun to investigate the causes of the crash.

The plane crashed a few minutes after take-off, near the town of Agua Dulce, 15 kilometers from Riberalta.

As a result of the accident, the head of Vector Control, Carla Romero Pérez; the doctor of the National Institute of Health Laboratories (Inlasa), José Jorge Aruni; Inlasa technicians Erika Mercad and Walter Delgado, Captain Freddy Suárez Téllez, and Lieutenant Jhon Clinton Mariaca, crew members of the aircraft, died.