At least 34 killed, dozens hurt as Colombian military plane crashes after takeoff

BOGOTA - At least 34 people were killed when a Colombian Air Force plane carrying 125 people crashed just after takeoff deep in the country’s southern Amazon region on March 23, authorities said.

The incident was one of the deadliest accidents in recent history for Colombia’s Air Force, with nearly two dozen people still missing amid the crash debris, which was charred and still burning even as rescuers attempted to find survivors, showed videos from local media.

“Unfortunately, the information is of 34 deaths,” Mr Luis Emilio Bustos, the mayor of the nearby town of Puerto Leguizamo, told Reuters.

Mr Jhon Gabriel Molina, governor of the Putumayo department, said in an interview with local news outlet Caracol Noticias that 34 were killed, 70 people were injured and 21 people were missing.

“These are figures that could change,” he added.

The accident occurred as the Lockheed Martin-built Hercules C-130 transport plane was taking off from Puerto Leguizamo on the border with Peru, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said earlier on X.

The plane hit the ground just 1.5km away from where it took off, and ammunition being carried on board detonated as a result of a fire on the aircraft, he later said.

There was no indication of an “attack by illegal actors,” and the plane was airworthy with a qualified crew ahead of departure, Mr Sanchez added.

Footage from the scene published by local outlet BluRadio showed thick plumes of smoke rising from the debris, surrounded by thick grass and jungle. One video showed the plane heading towards the ground just seconds after takeoff.

Colombia’s Air Force had earlier reported a total of 121 people on board, comprised of 110 soldiers and 11 crew members. It was not immediately clear what accounted for the discrepancy with the figures reported by the local authorities.

Modernising the military

In an earlier post on X, Mr Petro 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. “If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to this challenge, they must be removed.”

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.

A spokesperson for US defense company Lockheed Martin said the company extended condolences to those affected by the crash and that it was committed to helping Colombia as it investigates the incident.

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 US under a law that allows for the transfer of used or surplus military equipment.

Hercules C-130s are frequently used in Colombia to transport troops as part of the military’s operations amid a six-decade-long internal conflict that has claimed more than 450,000 lives.

The tail number of the plane that crashed on March 23 matches that of the first of three US Air Force planes delivered by the US in recent years, which arrived in late 2020.

A report by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency estimated that the C-130 in question delivered to Colombia in 2020 had lost 60 per cent of its original value. It has also sent surplus C-130s to Chile, Poland, Romania, Jordan, Tunisia and Niger.

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. REUTERS