The US-made helicopter was on a counterinsurgency mission in Cesar State with two other helicopters when bad weather caused the pilots to lose contact, the army said.

"The commander of the army and all the personnel of the institution express their solidarity with the brave soldiers who sacrificed their lives," the army command said in a statement.

Authorities were working to recover the bodies from the crash site, near the town of Pailitos, 290 miles north of Bogota. Marxist rebels and their right-wing paramilitary foes operate in the area.

There were six crew members and 17 soldiers from the army's Rapid Deployment Force aboard, army officials said.

It was the third air disaster to shake Colombia this month.

On Feb. 6, a small plane carrying Minister of Social Welfare Juan Luis Londono and four other people crashed in the mountains of central Colombia, killing everyone aboard.

On Feb. 13, a single-engine US government plane carrying four Americans and a Colombian soldier crashed in southern Colombia. One of the Americans and the Colombian were shot dead by rebels, and the other three Americans were captured.

The United States has given Colombia almost $2 billion in the past three years in mostly military aid, including a fleet of Black Hawks and other helicopters. It was not immediately clear if the Black Hawk that crashed Wednesday was donated by the United States, or purchased by Colombia.

(China Daily February 27, 2003)