Death toll from Colombian military aircraft crash rises to 66

Bogota: The death toll from a Colombian military aircraft crash in southern Colombia’s Putumayo region has risen to 66, with 57 others injured, local media reported, citing military sources.

There were 114 passengers and 11 crew members on board the C-130 Hercules transport plane, Carlos Silva, commander of the Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC), said in a video posted by the FAC on X, adding that an investigative team has been sent to determine the causes of the crash, Xinhua news agency reported.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro in a post on X said that the status of more than 40 pepople on board the plane is yet to be confirmed.

In a video posted to social media, Colombian Air Force Commander Fernando Silva said the plane had 114 passengers and 11 crew members on board, while stating that the authorities were investigating the cause of the crash.

Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X earlier on Monday that a transport plane went down during takeoff from Puerto Leguizamo. He added that military units were at the scene, and the cause of the crash has not yet been determined.

Sanchez expressed his “sincere condolences” to the families of the victims, noting that all care protocols have been activated to support those affected.

Some of the injured soldiers were flown to the capital Bogota for treatment.

Sanchez has sent condolences to the families of those affected.

Petro said the crash “should never have happened.” He lamented the lack of modernisation of the armed forces, which he attributed to “bureaucratic difficulties.”

The accident took place when the Lockheed Martin-built Hercules C-130 was taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, on the border with Peru, Colombia’s defence minister Pedro Sanchez said earlier on X.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro thanked the people who rushed to the crash site to save the lives of those aboard.

Flight data shows the plane was a C-130H Hercules, an older model of the C-130 series that first entered service in March 1965, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The plane had been donated to the Colombian Air Force by the US Air Force in September 2020.

Footage shared across social platforms captured the moment the troop transport aircraft went into a steep dive shortly after departure. Additional media from local source BluRadio depicted heavy smoke billowing from the wreckage following the impact. While these visuals have not been independently confirmed by HT, BluRadio noted that the accident occurred only 3 km away from a populated area.

IANS