(CNN) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday that an American staffer from the US Mission in Colombia is missing and presumed dead after a boating accident over the weekend.

"To my entire State Department team, Susan and I are with you in your grief," Pompeo said. "You have my word the Department will do everything in our power to comfort and support those who have suffered from this devastating loss."

The top US diplomat, speaking alongside the Colombian president in Bogota, said the boating accident occurred on Saturday and that other government personnel had been involved. Some were rescued with "modest injuries" and one was airlifted to the US for treatment, Pompeo said. The missing worker's next of kin had been notified, Pompeo said, but they were withholding the individual's name for privacy considerations.

A spokesperson for the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs told CNN that the employee was "on temporary assignment to the US Embassy in Bogota" and was "engaging in tourist activities in Cartagena" when the boating accident occurred.

"We appreciate the Colombian Government's continued search-and-rescue operation in search of the missing American employee," they said.

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