A small plane crashed near the southwestern Colombian city of Popayan on Sunday, killing seven of the nine passengers aboard. /Getty Images/

The incident occurred just a few minutes after the aircraft, owned by a small local company, took off from the airport in Popayan. /Getty Images/

Rescuers work at the site where a plane crashed at the Junin neighborhood in Popayan, southwestern Colombia. /Getty Images/

Colombia’s civil aviation authority said in a statement it was investigating the cause of the accident. /Getty Images/