BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A military transport plane carrying 125 people crashed shortly after takeoff in southwest Colombia on Monday, causing an unknown number of casualties, officials in the South American country said. At least 48 people were rescued.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said on the 10th that the plane was carrying troops when it suffered a “tragic accident” in Port Leguizamo. Puerto Leguizamo is a remote city in the Amazonian province of Putumayo, bordering Peru and Ecuador.
Images shared online by Colombian media showed black smoke rising from the site where the plane crashed, and a truck carrying soldiers rushing to the scene.
Colombian Air Force Commander Carlos Fernando Silva subsequently released a video saying that the Hercules C-130 aircraft was carrying 125 people, including 114 passengers and 11 crew members. Silva said that rescue work at the crash site was continuing and at least 48 people had been rescued.
Media shared videos of soldiers rushing from the scene on motorcycles driven by local residents.
“We don’t know the details of the crash at this time,” Silva said. “It’s just that there was something wrong with the plane and it crashed about two kilometers from the airport.” The air force commander added that two planes with 74 beds had been sent to the area to transport the injured back to hospitals in Bogota and elsewhere.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on X that he hoped “there will be no casualties from this accident that should not have happened.”
Petro used the accident to promote what he called a long-term campaign to modernize aircraft and other equipment used by the country’s military, saying those efforts were hampered by “bureaucratic difficulties” and suggesting some officials should be held accountable. “If civilian or military administrators cannot rise to the challenge, they must be removed from office,” Petro said.
Sanchez wrote that the accident was “a great pain for this country,” adding: “We hope our prayers can help alleviate some of the pain.”
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