Colombia: military plane crashes in Putumayo department, leaving 68 people dead
Among the dead are 58 soldiers, six members of the air force and two policemen.
(Voice / Christian Camacho)
A tragic plane crash occurred this Monday in Colombia. A Hercules C-130 military transport plane belonging to the Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC) crashed shortly after takeoff from the airport in Puerto Leguízamo, in the Putumayo department, in the south of the country, near the border with Peru and Ecuador.
Images released by local media show the wreckage of the plane engulfed in flames and smoke, amid vegetation.
As reported by AFP, the crash left 68 dead and dozens injured, making it one of the worst to have occurred in this country. The news agency also highlighted that among the dead there are 58 soldiers, six members of the air force and two policemen.
In his official X account, President Gustavo Petro stated that it was a "horrific accident" and referred to the need to modernize the military fleet, in a publication in which he also posted images showing how the aircraft tries to take altitude before collapsing.
The role of the Hercules in anti-drug operations
The Hercules is a four-engine turboprop aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Renowned for its ability to operate on improvised runways, it is widely employed by armed forces around the world and can transport everything from troops to vehicles.
This is the second crash of aC-130 Hercules aircraft in South America in less than a month. On February 27, a Bolivian military cargo plane carrying bank notes crashed during landing near La Paz, causing at least 24 deaths.
LATEST
