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This photo released by the San Predro de los Milagros Fire Department shows the wreckage of a small plane assigned to the crew of a film starring Tom Cruise, that crashed, in a rural place of San Pedro de los Milagros, Colombia. Apexchange
MENA

Two crew members on Tom Cruise film killed in plane crash

The pilot and owner of the plane were killed.

TWO PEOPLE DIED when a plane carrying crew members from a film starring Tom Cruise crashed in Colombia, aviation authorities and Universal Pictures said.

The crew had just wrapped up production on the upcoming Doug Liman film “Mena,” when it went down while returning to Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport in Medellin.

“On behalf of the production, our hearts and prayers go out to the crew members and their families at this difficult time,” Universal Pictures said in a statement.

On Twitter, Colombia’s civil aviation authority said villagers confirmed two dead and one injured.

The twin-engine plane crashed in a mountainous area in the town of San Pedro de los Milagros around 5:30 pm local town, said Uriel Bedoya of Aerocivil.

Pilot Alan Purwin was among the dead, according to Steve Gatena, chief executive of Helinet Aviation, which owns the plane.

The other two passengers were identified as Jimmy Lee Garland and Carlos Berl.

Cruise, who arrived in Colombia on August 20, recorded scenes there for the film based on the life of American pilot Barry Seal, who worked for drug kingpin Pablo Escobar, who was killed in Medellin in 1993.

© AFP, 2015

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