The Beechcraft 1900 twin-engined turboprop plane took off before noon from Cucuta, on the border with Venezuela, for a short flight to the town of Ocana, Satena said.

Air traffic control lost contact with the plane 12 minutes into the flight, the carrier added.

Satena did not say what caused the crash and said the plane’s emergency beacon had not been activated.

Lawmaker Diogenes Quintero and members of his team were aboard the plane, as well as Carlos Salcedo, a candidate for Congress ahead of elections in March, according to a passenger list released by the airline.

Images released by local media showed the crashed plane, including what appeared to be significant damage to the fuselage.

The area where the plane crashed is a mountainous region planted with coca leaves, the raw material for cocaine, and where illegal armed groups such as the National Liberation Army and a dissident faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia operate.