ARMY PLANE MISSING WITH 5 U.S. SOLDIERS ABOARD IN COLOMBIA

A U.S. Army reconnaissance plane on an anti-narcotics mission was reported
missing and feared down in southern Colombia yesterday with five American
soldiers and two Colombians on board.

American military authorities lost contact with the plane about 4:30 a.m.
local time, three hours after it took off from a Colombian air base,
apparently on a mission to take pictures of coca cultivation and scout for
cocaine-producing laboratories.

A broad search by U.S. and Colombian aircraft, much of it over hilly and
forested terrain heavily populated by Marxist-led guerrillas, failed to
produce any sign of the propeller-driven De Havilland RC-7, U.S. military
officials said.

It was the first reported disappearance of U.S. military personnel in
Colombia.

Colombia produces 80 percent of the world's cocaine and about two-thirds of
the heroin consumed in the United States. It is slated to receive $300
million in U.S. anti-drug aid this year, making it the third-largest
recipient of military aid after Israel and Egypt.

The Pentagon has sought to limit U.S. assistance to anti-narcotics
operations, but pressure has grown to assist Colombian authorities in their
battle against the guerrillas. The leftist rebels have been vociferous
critics of Washington's anti-drug role and have threatened to target U.S.
personnel in Colombia.

A statement issued by the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia's capital,
described the RC-7 flight yesterday as a "routine" mission. A senior
Pentagon official said U.S. Army reconnaissance teams move in and out of
Colombia frequently, deploying there for a week or two at a time.