A Colombian Air Force plane carrying 128 people crashed just after takeoff 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 transport plane was carrying 11 air force members, 115 army personnel, and two national police officers when it crashed deep in the country’s southern Amazon region, according to Hugo Alejandro Lopez, head of the nation’s armed forces.
The death toll was nearly double that of the previous figure given by authorities, who continued search and recovery efforts at the site of the deadly crash. The accident occurred as the Lockheed Martin-built Hercules C-130 plane was taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, on the border with Peru, defence minister Pedro Sanchez said on X.
The plane was believed to have suffered an impact near the end of the runway as it was taking off, firefighter Eduardo San Juan Callejas told Caracol, with a wing of the plane later clipping a tree as it was plummeting.
The crash caused the plane to catch fire and detonate some sort of explosive devices on board, he added.
Residents of the remote area were the first to pull out survivors, with videos showing men speeding down a dirt road with wounded soldiers on the back of their motorcycles.
Military vehicles later arrived, though authorities said the crash site was difficult to reach, impeding rescue efforts. Mr Lopez said that 57 of the survivors had been hospitalised, with 30 of them in non-serious condition at a military clinic.
President Gustavo Petro, in the twilight of his administration, criticised bureaucratic obstacles for delaying his plans to modernise the military.
“I will grant no further delays; it is the lives of our young people that are at stake,” he said in a post on X.
“If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to this challenge, they must be removed.”
Several candidates in Colombia’s upcoming 31 May presidential election offered condolences and called for an investigation.
A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin said the company was committed to helping Colombia as it investigates the incident.
Footage published by local outlet BluRadio showed thick plumes of smoke rising from the crash site, located just 3km (2 miles) from an urban centre. One video depicted the aircraft heading towards the ground moments after departing. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the crash.
Hercules C-130 planes were first launched in the 1950s and Colombia acquired its first models in the late 1960s. It has more recently modernized some older C-130s with newer models sent from the U.S. under a law that allows for the transfer of used or surplus military equipment.
Additional details of the plane involved in the accident were not immediately available.
Several candidates in Colombia’s upcoming May 31 presidential election expressed condolences to the families of the injured soldiers on social media and called for an investigation.
Colombia’s Commander General of the Armed Forces, Hugo Lopez, vowed to respond with “the utmost responsibility, humanity and transparency”.
At the end of February, another Hercules C-130 belonging to the Bolivian Air Force crashed in the populous city of El Alto, barely missing a residential block.
More than 20 people died in that incident and another 30 were injured, and banknotes from the plane’s cargo scattered around the city, prompting clashes between residents and security forces.
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