Ten people were killed Wednesday when a small plane crashed in central Colombia after developing technical problems, officials said.

Colonel Carlos Roche, the deputy director of Colombia's aviation authority, said the plane encountered difficulties while in flight, and a pilot asked for an emergency landing at Mariquita airport.

"Unfortunately, it didn't make it and crashed eight miles from the airport," killing the two pilots and eight passengers on board, he said.

The Piper PA-31 Navajo plane crashed in the early morning. All its occupants were Colombian, authorities said.