A military transport plane carrying 128 individuals, predominantly soldiers, crashed shortly after its departure in Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, on Monday. The tragic incident resulted in at least 66 fatalities and left numerous others injured, as confirmed by the head of Colombia’s armed forces.
General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto reported that four military personnel remain unaccounted for following the crash.
“Regrettably, 66 of our military personnel have lost their lives as a result of this tragic accident,” he announced.
General Barreto also noted, “Currently, we have no evidence or indications to suggest that this was an attack by any illegal armed group.”
Deputy Mayor Carlos Claros, in a social media video, stated that the victims’ bodies were transported to the local morgue. The town’s two clinics provided initial treatment to the injured before they were transferred to larger medical facilities. Puerto Leguizamo is situated in the Amazonian province of Putumayo, adjacent to the borders of Ecuador and Peru.
In an interview with Colombian television station RCN, Claros expressed his gratitude, saying, “I want to thank the people of Puerto Leguizamo who came out to help the victims of this accident.”
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said on X that the plane that crashed Monday was transporting troops to another city in Putumayo.
Images shared online by Colombian media outlets showed a black cloud of smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed and a truck with soldiers rushing to the site.
The airplane had 128 people on board, including 115 were from the Army, 11 crew members and 2 from the National Police. Baretto said 57 people were evacuated.
Media outlets shared videos of soldiers being rushed from the site on motorcycles driven by local residents, while another group of residents tried to put out the fire that the plane crash had created in a field surrounded by dense foliage.
Carlos Fernando Silva, the commander of Colombia’s air force, said details of the crash were not yet known, “except that the plane had a problem and went down about two kilometers from the airport.”
The air force commander added that two planes, with 74 beds, were sent to the area to fly the injured back to hospitals in the capital, Bogota, and elsewhere.
Petro seized on the accident to promote what he called his longtime 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 civilian or military administrative officials are not up to the challenge, they must be removed,” Petro said.
Critics of the president pointed out that military aircraft have been given less flight hours under the Petro administration due to budget cuts, which leads to less experienced crews.
Erich Saumeth, a Colombian aviation expert and military analyst, said that the Hercules C-130 that crashed Monday had been donated by the United States to Colombia in 2020. Three years later, it went through a detailed revision known as an overhaul, in which its engines were inspected and key components were replaced.
“I don’t think this plane crashed because of a lack of good parts,” Saumeth said. He said that investigations will have to determine why the engines of the Hercules, which has four propellers, failed so quickly after take off.
In a message on X Monday, Defense Minister Sánchez said that so far there were no signs indicating that the plane was attacked by rebel groups that operate near Puerto Leguizamo.
Sánchez wrote that the accident was “profoundly painful for the country,” adding that: “We hope that our prayers can help to relieve some of the pain.”
