A military transport plane with 128 people on board, mostly soldiers, crashed shortly after taking off Monday in Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, killing at least 66 people and leaving dozens injured, the head of Colombia’s armed forces said.
General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto said that four military personnel were still missing.
„Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our military elements died,“ he said.
„At the moment, we have no information, or indications, that it was an attack by an illegal armed group,“ Barreto added.
In a video posted on social media, Deputy Mayor Carlos Claros said that the bodies of the victims were taken to the small town’s morgue, and that the only two clinics in town treated the injured before they were flown to larger cities. Puerto Leguizamo is located in Putumayo, an Amazonian province that borders Ecuador and Peru.
„I want to thank the people of Puerto Leguizamo who came out to help the victims of this accident,“ Claros told Colombian television station RCN.
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said on X that the plane that crashed Monday was transporting troops to another city in Putumayo.
Images shared online by Colombian media outlets showed a black cloud of smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed and a truck with soldiers rushing to the site.
The airplane had 128 people on board, including 115 were from the Army, 11 crew members and 2 from the National Police. Baretto said 57 people were evacuated.
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Media outlets shared videos of soldiers being rushed from the site on motorcycles driven by local residents, while another group of residents tried to put out the fire that the plane crash had created in a field surrounded by dense foliage.
Carlos Fernando Silva, the commander of Colombia’s air force, said details of the crash were not yet known, „except that the plane had a problem and went down about two kilometers from the airport.“
The air force commander added that two planes, with 74 beds, were sent to the area to fly the injured back to hospitals in the capital, Bogota, and elsewhere.
Petro seized on the accident to promote what he called his longtime campaign to modernize planes and other equipment used by his country’s military, saying those efforts have been blocked by „bureaucratic difficulties“ and suggesting that some officials should be held accountable.
„If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to the challenge, they must be removed,“ Petro said.
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Critics of the president pointed out that military aircraft have been given less flight hours under the Petro administration due to budget cuts, which leads to less experienced crews.
Erich Saumeth, a Colombian aviation expert and military analyst, said that the Hercules C-130 that crashed Monday had been donated by the United States to Colombia in 2020. Three years later, it went through a detailed revision known as an overhaul, in which its engines were inspected and key components were replaced.
„I don’t think this plane crashed because of a lack of good parts,“ Saumeth said. He said that investigations will have to determine why the engines of the Hercules, which has four propellers, failed so quickly after take off.
In a message on X Monday, Defense Minister Sánchez said that so far there were no signs indicating that the plane was attacked by rebel groups that operate near Puerto Leguizamo.
Sánchez wrote that the accident was „profoundly painful for the country,“ adding that: „We hope that our prayers can help to relieve some of the pain.“
Colombian military plane crash kills at least 66, head of armed forces says 2026 IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-03-24 11:51:06 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
