66 Killed as Military Plane Crashes Shortly After Takeoff in Colombia
- A military transport aircraft carrying 128 people crashed shortly after takeoff near Puerto Leguizamo, killing at least 66 personnel and injuring dozens
- Emergency responders and residents mounted rescue efforts despite limited medical facilities, with survivors later evacuated to larger cities, including Bogota
- Authorities ruled out sabotage or armed group involvement as investigations began into possible mechanical failure
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Grief spread across southern Colombia on Monday, March 23, after a military transport aircraft went down moments after departure, killing at least 66 people and injuring dozens more.
The aircraft was carrying 128 passengers, most of them soldiers, when it crashed near Puerto Leguizamo, a remote town close to the borders with Ecuador and Peru, AP reported.
Source: AFP
The head of the armed forces, Hugo Alejandro López Barreto, confirmed the death toll and said four service members were still unaccounted for.
“Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our military elements died,” he said. He also noted that investigators had found no evidence of hostile action.
“At the moment, we have no information, or indications, that it was an attack by an illegal armed group,” Barreto added.
Rescue efforts strain local facilities
According to BBC, emergency responders and residents converged on the crash site as thick smoke rose from a field surrounded by dense vegetation.
Local official Carlos Claros said the town’s limited health facilities were quickly overwhelmed. The bodies were taken to the local morgue, while injured survivors received initial treatment before being flown to better-equipped cities.
“I want to thank the people of Puerto Leguizamo who came out to help the victims of this accident,” Claros told Colombian television station RCN.
Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez said the plane had been moving troops within Putumayo province. Authorities later reported that 57 people were evacuated alive from the wreckage.
Videos shared by local media showed residents using motorcycles to ferry wounded soldiers away from the crash site as others tried to contain the fire.
Source: Getty Images
Questions over cause and aircraft
Air Force Commander Carlos Fernando Silva said early findings showed the plane went down about two kilometres from the airport shortly after takeoff. Two additional aircraft equipped with 74 beds were dispatched to move the injured to hospitals in Bogota and other locations.
President Gustavo Petro linked the tragedy to long-standing concerns about aging military equipment and administrative delays in modernisation efforts.
“If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to the challenge, they must be removed,” Petro said.
Aviation analyst Erich Saumeth cautioned against premature conclusions, noting the aircraft had undergone a major overhaul in recent years.
“I don’t think this plane crashed because of a lack of good parts,” he said, adding that investigators must determine why the engines failed so soon after takeoff.
Authorities said a full investigation was underway as the country mourned one of its deadliest military aviation disasters in years.
6 US service members die in plane crash
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that six United States service members were confirmed dead after a military aircraft crashed in western Iraq, the US military said Friday, March 13.
The aircraft crashed on Thursday, March 12, during a mission linked to ongoing operations in the Middle East, marking another fatal incident amid heightened regional deployments.
Proofreading by Funmilayo Aremu, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
