A Colombian Air Force plane crashed right after taking off on Sunday, killing at least 66 people mostly soldiers. The accident happened in southern Colombia near the town of Puerto Leguízamo, close to the border with Peru and Ecuador.
The plane was a large U.S.-made Lockheed C-130 Hercules. It was carrying 128 people when it went down. That included 115 army soldiers, 11 air force crew members, and two police officers.
The flight was a routine transport mission moving troops between bases in a region that is difficult to reach by road. The plane had just left Caucayá Airport and was supposed to fly to another airport in the same region. Instead, it crashed shortly after takeoff, broke apart on impact, and caught fire.
Colombia’s top military commander, General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto, said sadly that 66 military personnel died in the crash. He also said some soldiers were still missing at first, while many others were badly hurt. Rescue teams quickly rushed the injured to hospitals. Some were taken all the way to the main military hospital in the capital city, Bogotá. According to local authorities, at least 57 people were injured, with several in critical condition.
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The crash site is in a very remote jungle area. The land around Puerto Leguízamo is thick forest, which made it hard for rescue workers to reach the plane. Videos from the scene showed black smoke rising from the wreckage. Some reports said that explosives the plane was carrying went off after the crash, which made things even more dangerous for the people trying to help. Emergency teams had to work carefully because of the risk of further explosions and the difficult terrain.
This C-130 Hercules was not a brand-new plane. The United States had given it to Colombia in 2020. They are often used to carry soldiers and supplies to hard-to-reach places. Colombia has been using similar C-130s since the 1960s. The C-130 Hercules is very important for the Colombian military because many parts of the country have bad roads connections and dangerous areas. Right now, no one knows exactly why the plane crashed. The Defense Minister said it looks like a terrible accident and there is no sign that any rebel group attacked it.
Investigators from the Colombian Air Force have started looking into everything. The plane’s maintenance, the weather that day, weight and capacity of the plane, and what the pilots did right before takeoff. They will also examine the aircraft’s engines, flight data recorder (black box), and any communication between the pilots and air traffic control. Officials have ruled out foul play for now, but they are keeping all possibilities open until the investigation is complete.
This is one of the worst military plane crashes in Colombia in a long time. The Colombian army often flies soldiers around the country, especially in places like Putumayo where there are still problems with drug gangs and illegal armed groups.
Because the roads aren’t always safe, planes like this C-130 are used a lot to move troops quickly.
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Families of the soldiers who died are now getting the terrible news. Many of the victims were young men doing their duty for their country. Hospitals in the area and in Bogotá are busy treating all the injured people.The Colombian government has promised to do a full and careful investigation. They want to find out exactly what went wrong so they can make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.
The results could change how the air force takes care of these planes in the future. President Gustavo Petro expressed his condolences and ordered the Defense Ministry to speed up the investigation and improve safety standards for military aircraft.
This crash has left many people in Colombia feeling very sad and shocked. It shows how dangerous it can be for soldiers even when they are just moving from one place to another. Everyone is waiting for more updates about the investigation and the final number of people who were hurt or killed.