Two killed as Tom Cruise movie crew plane crashes in Colombia

BOGOTA: 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 on Friday 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 5.30pm (2230 GMT), 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. The crash was the latest in a series of deadly incidents involving film crews. In March, eight French nationals and two Argentine pilots died in a helicopter crash while filming a television reality show. Three people were killed during the 2013 crash of a helicopter while filming a reality TV series for the Discovery Channel.