A Colombian Air Force plane crashed shortly after takeoff in the south of the country, leaving at least 66 people dead and dozens injured, officials have said.
The C-130 Hercules aircraft, a US-made transport plane used for moving troops, came down near the town of Puerto Leguízamo in Putumayo province, close to Colombia’s border with Peru.
Air force commander Carlos Fernando Silva Rueda said 114 army personnel were on board the aircraft, along with 11 crew members.
Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez later confirmed that ammunition being carried on the plane detonated as a result of a fire on the aircraft. A military source told AFP that 58 soldiers had died, along with six air force personnel and two police officers. Two military sources also told Reuters that 66 people had died.
The incident ranks as one of the deadliest accidents in recent history for Colombia’s Air Force.
Emergency workers were seen searching through the wreckage for survivors, with locals reportedly transporting injured soldiers from the accident site to hospitals on the back of small motorbikes.
The cause of the crash is being investigated.
President Gustavo Petro wrote on X that “this horrendous accident … should not have happened.” In a lengthy post, he blamed “bureaucratic problems” for holding up his plans to modernise the armed forces’ equipment and their aircraft.
“I will allow no further delays, the lives of our young people are at stake,” he wrote, without clarifying what may have caused the accident.
Last month, a Bolivian Air Force C-130 Hercules transporting banknotes crashed in the west of the country, killing at least 20 people.
