At least seven people were killed when a small plane crashed in the southwestern Colombian town of Popayan here on Sunday.

The crash occurred shortly after the aircraft, owned by airline company Transpacifico, took off from the Payan airport, authorities said.

The twin-engine Piper PA-31-350 was headed towards the town of Lopez de Micay when it suffered mechanical failures and crashed.

Firefighters were trying to stop fuel leaking from the aircraft.

Colombia’s civil aviation authority said in a statement it was investigating the cause of the crash.

Photographs on social media showed parts of the airplane scattered on the roof of houses in the area.

Gomez, the mayor, said he had convened a working group to assist affected residents.