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Tragedy struck Colombia on Monday as a military transport plane crashed shortly after takeoff, resulting in at least 66 fatalities.
The aircraft, which was carrying 128 individuals, primarily soldiers, went down in Puerto Leguizamo, located on the western fringes of the Amazon. The crash has left many injured, according to the head of Colombia’s armed forces.
General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto revealed that four military personnel remain unaccounted for following the incident.
“Regrettably, due to this unfortunate accident, 66 of our military members have lost their lives,” he stated.
General Barreto also mentioned, “Currently, we have no evidence or signs suggesting that this was an attack by any illegal armed group.”
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.
BluRadio cited authorities as saying 128 ​soldiers were on board, and that the crash took place ‌just 2 miles from a city center
The aircraft, a Hercules C-130 used for transporting troops, came down near the town of Puerto LeguÃzamo, in Putumayo province
Military personnel seen being transferred to the Military Transport Air Command CATAM Air Base after a Colombian Air Force plane crashed in a rural area near Puerto Leguizamo
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said on X that the plane that crashed on Monday was transporting troops to another city in Putumayo.Â
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.
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.
People stand around a military cargo plane that crashed after taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, a remote municipality in the Amazonian province of Putumayo
Flames and thick black smoke rise from an Air Force Hercules that crashed during takeoff
Colombia’s military said about 80 troops were believed to be dead after the plane crash
Soldiers and rescuers could be seen standing around as smoke billowed from the wreckage
There appeared to be very little of the plane remaining following the disaster
Some locals could be seen trying to douse the flames with hosepipesÂ
The aircraft, a C-130 Hercules, was carrying at least 110 soldiers and 11 crew members
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.Â
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.
The degree of injuries appeared to vary among the survivorsÂ
Ambulances transport victims of a plane crash to the Central Military Hospital in Bogota
 Ambulances transport victims of theplane crash to the Central Military Hospital in Bogota
Emergency vehicles are seen in convey traveling through the streets of the Colombian capital
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.’