Many people are feared dead after a Colombian military cargo plane crashed Monday in the southwestern part of the country, Colombian officials said.
The plane crashed immediately after takeoff, according to Colombia’s defense minister, with soldiers aboard the plane when it crashed.
According to the most recent data supplied by the Colombian Air Force, it was carrying 114 passengers and 11 crew members, with at least 48 individuals evacuated from the accident site and injured.
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez told X that the “tragic accident” occurred in Puerto Leguízamo, a rural community in the Amazonian region of Putumayo, which shares borders with Peru and Ecuador.
Local media outlets uploaded images online showing a black cloud of smoke rising from the field where the plane landed, as well as a truck carrying soldiers to the scene.
Sánchez did not indicate how many troops were on board the Hercules C-130, which can transport up to 120 personnel.
He stated that rescue teams had been dispatched to the crash site but that the reason for the accident had yet to be identified.
“I hope there will be no deadly casualties in this accident that should not have occurred,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on X.
Petro exploited the tragedy to promote what he called his long-running program to update planes and other military equipment, claiming that those efforts had been hampered by “bureaucratic difficulties” and implying that certain officials should face consequences.
“If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to the challenge, they must be removed,” Petro said.
Sánchez wrote that the crash was “profoundly painful for the country,” adding that: “We hope that our prayers can help to relieve some of the pain.”
