The plane carrying Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot and other delegates to the CELAC-EU summit in Colombia was forced to make an unscheduled landing on the island of Sint Maarten due to engine trouble.
A spokesperson for the minister confirmed that the Belgian Defence Falcon aircraft encountered the issue during its journey to the summit.
The delegation’s arrival in Santa Marta for the Sunday meeting between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will be delayed. As a result, Minister Prévot is expected to miss several planned appointments.
The plane initially took off on Saturday morning (Belgian time) but had already faced complications, having to turn back over the United Kingdom due to a fuel problem. After repairs in Melsbroek, it resumed its flight at 14:00 but later landed on Sint Maarten for safety reasons. The landing was carried out without any incidents.
Delegates are now staying overnight at a hotel on the island while awaiting further travel arrangements to reach Santa Marta. No specific details have been provided about how they will proceed to Colombia.
Minister Prévot had intended to attend the summit’s opening evening alongside heads of government and ambassadors and had planned bilateral meetings on Saturday. Scheduled engagements with NGOs and Latin American ministers on Sunday morning are also set to be missed.
