With profound sorrow, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) confirms that our colleague Maira Alejandra Avendaño Rincón was travelling on flight NSE 8849, which crashed on the Cúcuta-Ocaña route, north-east Colombia, on Wednesday 28 January.
“I am deeply saddened by this tragic loss of valued colleague and friend, Maira Alejandra Avendaño Rincón. The entire global NRC-family is mourning,” said Jan Egeland, NRC Secretary General.
“We express our condolences to Maira's family and to all the families of the victims of this accident, including the relative of our NRC colleague Francisco Barbosa and humanitarian personnel from World Vision. Maira was an extremely valued and respected colleague, both in NRC and throughout the humanitarian sector. Her loss will be profoundly felt.”
Maira served as NRC’s protection coordinator in the north-east region, working to support victims of armed conflict.
We are aware of the significant impact this accident has on our colleagues, the humanitarian community, and the people Maira served through her protection work. We are in close in contact with Maira's family, the airline, and the Unified Command Post to implement the measures and actions that this serious and difficult situation requires.
For more information, please contact:
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NRC global media hotline: media@nrc.no, +47 905 62 329
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Ana Milena Ayala Sanchez, advocacy and communication officer in Colombia: ana.ayala@nrc.no. +57 3232746021