A military plane crash in southern Colombia has resulted in the deaths of 66 security force personnel, with four individuals currently reported missing. The accident occurred near the border with Peru when a Hercules C-130 transport plane, en route from the town of Puerto Leguízamo to Puerto Asís, crashed shortly after takeoff. Local residents were the first to arrive at the scene, pulling dozens of injured survivors from the burning wreckage and transporting them to hospitals on the backs of their motorcycles.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in a series of social media posts, appeared to blame antiquated military hardware for the disaster. Speaking about the victims without directly mentioning the Hercules plane, he wrote: "This piece of scrap metal was bought in 2020 and came down, let's ask why." In an earlier post, he attributed "bureaucratic problems" to delays in his plans to modernize the armed forces' equipment and their aircraft, adding, "I will allow no further delays, the lives of our young people are at stake."
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash. Mobile phone footage shared on social media showed the plane losing altitude shortly after takeoff, followed by a large plume of smoke rising from the crash site and the sound of explosions. Colombia's defense minister stated that the sound came from ammunition on board exploding in the flames and emphasized that there was no indication the plane had been attacked by any of the armed groups active in the Putumayo region. A local farmer, Noé Mota, told AFP news agency that he heard a loud bang before the Hercules crashed into trees near his home.
According to Commander General Hugo Alejandro López, the latest death toll includes 58 army personnel, six air force members, and two police officers. This crash marks the second time a Hercules C-130 has been involved in a deadly accident in as many months. On February 27, a Hercules C-130 belonging to the Bolivian army, carrying a shipment of banknotes, overshot the runway while approaching El Alto airport in Bolivia and crashed into traffic on a nearby highway, killing 24 people in that incident.
Source: www.bbc.com