Search for Missing Medical Mission Aircraft Concentrated in Chocó, Colombia

Colombian authorities are searching for a Cessna T206 aircraft that disappeared on Sunday, September 13, while traveling from Condoto in the Chocó department to Guaymaral airport in Bogotá. The aircraft, operated by the Patrulla Aérea Civil Colombiana, was carrying five people: pilot Mehmet Cankaya and four medical personnel, Perla Costanza Álvarez, Sandy García, María Guzmán, and Yuliza Figueredo. The group had been conducting a humanitarian medical brigade in Condoto. Communication with the plane was lost at 9:23 a.m. local time. Following the loss of contact, an emergency radio beacon was activated near Cerro Tatamá, which is located in a national park spanning the departments of Chocó, Valle del Cauca, and Risaralda. The governor of Chocó, Nubia Carolina Córdoba-Curi, stated that search efforts are concentrated in the rural area of the municipality of Tadó. The operation involves the Colombian Army, which has deployed a helicopter, as well as the National Police and local rescue teams. The mayor of Tadó, Juan Palacios, reported that the aircraft may have crashed between Tadocito and Jamaica after witnesses saw it flying very low. Search operations have faced significant delays due to difficult geographical terrain and heavy rains in the mountainous region. While center-right sources emphasize the suspension of search activities due to adverse weather, center-left sources focus more on the humanitarian nature of the mission and the specific identities of the missing personnel.