Columbia, March 24: A Colombian military transport plane crashed during takeoff Monday near the Peruvian border, resulting in 66 deaths and leaving four people missing. The Lockheed Martin-built Hercules C-130 was carrying 128 passengers, including 115 army personnel, 11 Air Force members, and two national police officers, when the disaster occurred at Puerto Leguizamo.
Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed the location of the accident, while armed forces head Hugo Alejandro Lopez stated that the death toll rose sharply as recovery teams reached the site. Lopez maintained that 57 survivors reached hospitals, with 30 of those individuals treated for non-serious injuries at a military clinic.
Initial reports from the scene indicated the aircraft suffered an impact near the end of the runway. Firefighter Eduardo San Juan Callejas asserted that a wing clipped a tree during the ascent, causing the plane to plummet. He further noted that the impact triggered a fire and the detonation of explosive devices stored on board.
Local residents initially led the rescue, using motorcycles to transport wounded soldiers from the remote area before military vehicles arrived. President Gustavo Petro addressed the tragedy by calling for an end to administrative delays in military upgrades. The president declared that he would grant no further delays because the lives of young people are at stake, adding that officials unable to meet the challenge of modernization must be removed.
The aircraft involved shares a tail number with one of three C-130s recently delivered to Colombia by the United States as part of a surplus equipment transfer. While these models have been in service since the 1960s, they remain a primary means of troop transport in the region. A spokesperson for Lockheed Martin affirmed the company is committed to assisting Colombian authorities with the ongoing investigation.
