Story highlights Two TV journalists went missing while covering another reporter's disappearance

All three journalists disappeared in Catatumbo, a region known for guerrillas, crime

(CNN) First, Spanish journalist Salud Hernandez went missing while working on a story in Catatumbo, a remote region in northern Colombia with a heavy guerrilla and organized crime presence.

Then Colombian TV network RCN said two of its journalists, correspondent Diego D'Pablos and cameraman Carlos Melo, disappeared in the same region while covering the disappearance of Hernandez.

RCN news director Claudia Gurisatti told CNN en Español on Tuesday that a government human rights official first confirmed the disappearance of her network's journalists.

"They called us and said that, ironically, the group of journalists who were covering what people in the area knew about Salud's disappearance had themselves been attacked. Their belongings, including their equipment, cameras, computers, communication equipment, telephones, were taken from them," Gurisatti said.

RTN correspondent Diego D'Pablos, left, and cameraman Carlos Melo also disappeared.

Catatumbo is an area of nearly 5,000 square kilometers (1,930 square miles) in the Norte de Santander department. Illegal crops are Catatumbo's economic engine, according to Gurisatti. In addition to drug traffickers, the Marxist guerrilla National Liberation Army, or ELN by its Spanish acronym, also has heavy presence in the area. Gurisatti said security forces are "nonexistent" there.

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