Military plane crash in southwestern Colombia kills at least 66 people and injures dozens

A Colombian military transport plane with mainly soldiers on board crashed Monday in Puerto Leguizamo, killing at least 66 people and injuring dozens, authorities said. Among those killed were six members of the Colombian Air Force, 58 from the National Army and two from the National Police, the Colombian Air Force said.

The accident occurred shortly after the plane took off, according to Colombia’s defense minister. The Hercules C-130 was carrying 128 people, including crew members, according to the latest figures released by the Colombian Air Force. One soldier was unhurt and 57 soldiers were rescued and evacuated from the accident site. The Air Force said four soldiers had not yet been located.

There is no information or indication at this time that this was an attack carried out by an illegal armed group, the Colombian Air Force said.

In a video posted on social media, Puerto Leguizamo Deputy Mayor Carlos Claros said the bodies of the victims had been taken to the small town’s morgue and that the town’s only two clinics were treating the injured before they were flown to larger cities. Puerto Leguizamo is located in Putumayo, an Amazonian province bordering Ecuador and Peru.

Images shared online by local media showed a cloud of black smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed, as well as a truck with soldiers rushing to the site.

In a message Monday on

Sánchez wrote that the accident was “deeply painful for the country,” adding: “We hope that our prayers can help ease some of the pain.” He said rescue teams had been sent to the scene of the accident and the cause of the accident had still not been determined.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro shared a video on X of soldiers and witnesses working to put out a fire started by the accident.

Petro also used the accident to promote what he calls his long-running 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 civil or military administrative officials are not up to the challenge, they must be fired,” Petro said.