BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A military transport plane with 121 people on board, mostly soldiers, crashed shortly after taking off Monday in southwestern Colombia, killing at least one person and leaving at least 77 injured, officials said.
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said on X that the “tragic accident” occurred in Puerto Leguizamo, a remote municipality in the Amazonian province of Putumayo, which borders the neighboring South American countries of Peru and Ecuador.
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 air force said in a statement that at least 77 people were rescued from the crash site with injuries, as rescue efforts were continuing. At least one person was confirmed dead, according a statement from the military command posted online by Colombian President Gustavo Petro.
The air force said that 121 people were on board the Hercules C-130 plane, including 110 soldiers and 11 crew members. It said the plane had been transporting soldiers to another city in Putumayo province. Officials earlier had said 125 people were on board.
Media outlets shared videos of soldiers being rushed from the site on motorcycles driven by local residents.
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, had been 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 aircraft had 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 on 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 engine was 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.”
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