Fatal Military Plane Crash in Southern Colombia
Sixty-nine members of the Colombian security forces lost their lives after a military plane crashed in the southern region of Colombia on Monday. The military confirmed on Wednesday that search and rescue operations had concluded.
In addition to the fatalities, fifty-seven individuals sustained injuries when the Hercules C-130 aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff near Colombia's border with Peru. Many survivors were extracted from the burning wreckage and transported to hospitals by local residents, who carried them on motorbikes.
Investigation and Flight Details
An official investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the accident. The Colombian armed forces updated the number of people on board the transport plane to 126 on Wednesday, revising the earlier figure of 128.
The flight was en route from the town of Puerto Leguízamo to Puerto Asís at the time of the crash.
Presidential Comments on Equipment and Bureaucracy
Colombian President Gustavo Petro addressed the incident in a series of social media posts, implicitly attributing the crash to outdated military equipment. Without explicitly naming the Hercules plane, he stated:
"This piece of scrap metal was bought in 2020 and came down, let's ask why."
In an earlier message, he cited "bureaucratic problems" as obstacles delaying his efforts to modernize the armed forces' equipment and aircraft.
"I will allow no further delays, the lives of our young people are at stake,"
he wrote.
Eyewitness Accounts and Crash Details
Mobile phone footage circulated on social media showed the plane losing altitude soon after takeoff, followed by a large plume of smoke emanating from the crash site and audible explosions.
Colombia's defense minister explained that the explosions were caused by ammunition on board igniting in the fire. He also stated there was no evidence suggesting the plane was attacked by any 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 collided with trees near his property.
"I felt an explosion in the air and, when I looked up, the plane was flying close to the house on my plot,"
Mota said.
Passenger Composition and Previous Similar Incident
The latest update from the armed forces indicated that 113 army members, two police officers, and 11 crew members were aboard the aircraft.
This crash marks the second fatal accident involving a Hercules C-130 in recent months. On 27 February, a Bolivian army Hercules C-130 carrying a shipment of banknotes overshot the runway during its approach to El Alto airport in Bolivia and crashed into traffic on a nearby highway, resulting in 24 fatalities.
