April 13, 1999
Web posted at: 2:09 a.m. EDT (0609 GMT)

In this story: Captives include officials, baby, 72-year-olds Pilots saw captives herded into boats Area is traditional rebel hideout RELATED STORIES, SITES

BOGOTA, Colombia (CNN) -- Colombia's security forces have launched a massive search for 46 people who disappeared Monday after suspected leftist rebels hijacked a commercial flight and forced it to fly to a remote airstrip.

Military planes and helicopters flew over the area where the plane was forced to land in an effort to track down the hijackers and their captives but had no immediate success. Ground troops also poured into the region's jungles and swamps to join the hunt.

If it is confirmed that leftist guerrillas were responsible, it would be the first time they have hijacked a commercial aircraft in the course of their three-decade-old war against the state.

"We reject this criminal action. We are in charge of security measures but sometimes things get out of hand, and this plane has been hijacked by surprise," said Gen. Rafael Hernandez, commander of the army's joint chiefs of staff. "Terrorist actions are easy to carry out but difficult to prevent."

Among the passengers were congressman Juan Corso, Abner Duarte, president of state-owned natural gas company Ecogas, a judge from the national electoral council and a small town mayor. The passenger list supplied by Avianca, Colombia's largest airline, also included one infant and a 72-year-old couple.

"My father suffered a heart attack three months ago and he needs drugs. He's a delicate person," German Florez told RCN radio, asking for mercy for 72-year-old Luis Florez, who was abducted along with his wife, Lilia.

The only known foreign passengers were an Ecuadorean nun and an Italian member of a Roman Catholic lay order, authorities said.

The Avianca flight disappeared from radar screens minutes after taking off Monday morning from the northeast city of Bucaramanga with the hijackers apparently among the passengers.

Pilots who flew over the landing strip in Simiti said they saw people dressed in green escorting captives from the Fokker-50 turboprop into wooden boats on the adjacent Magdalena River. Simiti is 80 miles northwest of Bucaramanga, the capital of Bolivar Province.

When police arrived, they found the plane empty with no signs of a violent struggle, said Ernesto Huertas, director of the civil aviation authority. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Veined by tributaries to the Magdalena River that climb into thickly forested Andean highlands, the region has often been used by rebels to hide victims of kidnappings. In recent months, it has also seen fierce combat between guerrillas and their paramilitary foes.

Despite peace talks, the National Liberation Army and the country's largest rebel band, The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, have made little progress in halting the violence. Guerrilla attacks on rural police posts and military patrols are a nearly daily occurrence.

Colombians who no longer travel by road, fearing now commonplace guerrilla highway kidnappings, will now reconsider domestic air travel, commented Rep. Antonio Navarro Wolff.

Colombia has one of the highest rates of abductions anywhere in the world with about 2,400 cases last year. About half those were carried out by the guerrillas, who frequently use ransom payments to finance their war against the state, according to the authorities.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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