A Venezuelan military helicopter crashed, killing 10 National Guard soldiers who were chasing suspected drug traffickers in a region close to the border with Colombia, an officer said on Saturday. The helicopter crashed while taking off on Friday afternoon after the soldiers had carried out a foot patrol in search of the suspected traffickers, one of whom was caught, Reuters cited General Luis Alfredo Dominguez as telling Venezuela state television. "This is a lamentable accident and the whole National Guard family and the people of Venezuela are in mourning," Dominguez said. He did not say if there were any survivors. Venezuela is a major route for Colombian cocaine headed to Europe and the United States. Much of its 1,375-mile (2,200-km) border with Colombia is rugged terrain where leftist guerrillas, drug traffickers and paramilitary fighters are active. This week Venezuelan authorities found 4 tons of cocaine on a farm, the government's largest haul in recent years. A few days earlier, Colombian authorities captured Walid Makled, a Venezuelan wanted in his home country and the United States on charges of major drug trafficking.
