Colombia’s Air Force has confirmed that a transport aircraft crash near Puerto Leguízamo has killed at least 66 military personnel and crew.
Ashenews gathered through Reuters reports citing military sources and official statements.
The aircraft, a Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules, was carrying over 120 occupants, including soldiers, air force crew, and police officers, when it crashed shortly after takeoff near Colombia’s southern border with Peru.
Colombia’s Defence Minister, Pedro Sánchez, described the incident as a tragic accident that occurred during a critical phase of flight. Air Force commander Carlos Fernando Silva Rueda also confirmed the number of personnel onboard and the scale of the casualties.
“A Colombian military plane crashed in a takeoff disaster on Monday, killing 66 people as rescuers shuttled dozens of survivors to nearby hospitals and searched for four who were still missing, according to a top official.
“The Lockheed Martin-built (LMT.N), Hercules C-130 transport plane was carrying 128 people, including 11 Air Force members, 115 army personnel and two national police officers, according to Hugo Alejandro Lopez, head of the nation’s armed forces.”
Authorities added that a fire broke out onboard the aircraft, triggering ammunition explosions that worsened the impact, while emergency responders continued rescue operations at the crash site.
The latest crash adds to a growing list of military aviation accidents in the region involving similar aircraft types. In February, a Bolivian Air Force Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules crashed in El Alto while transporting banknotes, resulting in at least 20 deaths.
The aircraft reportedly skidded off the runway after arriving from Santa Cruz.
It collided with nearby vehicles, leading to multiple casualties on the ground and onboard.
Bolivia’s defence ministry later confirmed the plane was carrying cash for the Central Bank at the time of the crash.
Despite having fewer occupants than the Colombian aircraft, the Bolivian incident raised similar safety concerns around the operation of ageing military transport fleets.
