Helicopter carrying Colombian president and senior officials hit by gunfire

Ivan Duque says cowardly' attack will not stop him tackling drug trafficking, terrorism and organised crime

Colombia's president, Ivan Duque, said a helicopter carrying him and several senior officials came under fire in the southern Catatumbo region bordering Venezuela, in a rare instance of a direct attack on a presidential aircraft.

Duque said everyone on board the helicopter was safe, including the defense minister, Diego Molano; the interior minister, Daniel Palacios and the governor of Norte de Santander state, Silvano Serrano.