Dozens feared dead after military plane crashes in southwestern Colombia

Dozens of people are feared dead after a Colombian military cargo plane crashed on Monday in the southwestern part of the country, Colombian officials said. The accident occurred shortly after the plane took off, according to Colombia’s Defense Minister.

There were soldiers on board the plane when it crashed. There were 114 passengers and 11 crew members traveling on it, according to the latest figures released by the Colombian Air Force, which reported that at least 48 people were rescued from the accident site and suffered injuries.

Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said in X that the “tragic accident” occurred in Puerto Leguizamo, a remote municipality in the Amazon province of Putumayo, bordering Peru and Ecuador.

Images shared online by local media show a cloud of black smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed, and a truck with soldiers rushing towards the scene.

Sánchez did not specify the number of troops who were on board the Hércules C-130, a plane that can be configured to transport up to 120 people. He said rescue teams had been sent to the accident site and the cause of the accident has not yet been determined.

“I hope there are no fatalities in this accident that should not have happened,” wrote Colombian President Gustavo Petro in X.

Petro used the crash to promote what he called his long-running campaign to modernize aircraft 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 civil or military administrative officials are not up to the challenge, they must be removed,” Petro said.

Sánchez wrote that the accident was “deeply painful for the country”, adding that: “We hope that our prayers can help alleviate some of the pain.”