Colombia military helicopter crash kills 10, army chief says

All ten people aboard a military helicopter that crashed in a rural area of northwestern Colombia on Tuesday were killed, the army's commander said.

Colombian army commander Major General Ricardo Gómez Nieto tweeted the news just two hours after Colombia's air force tweeted that helicopters were conducting search and rescue operations in the Segovia area in the country's north.

The incident occurred near the village of Cuturú, El Espectador reported. The aircraft was carrying military and civilian personnel between Caucasia and Segovia, NTN24 reported.

A military statement said two civilians aboard the aircraft were part of a military aviation fuel maintenance team.

The ministry of defense tweeted that an investigation had begun into the crash of the Russian-made Mi-17 – tail number EJC 3380.

In June 2016, a military helicopter crash killed 17 soldiers in an accident attributed to bad weather.

[This story is developing]

With reporting by AFP