The death toll from a military plane crash in Colombia has risen to 66, with dozens more injured on late Monday. The aircraft, carrying 125 people, crashed shortly after taking off in the southern part of the country. Among those killed were 58 soldiers, six air force personnel, and two police officers.The air force said in a statement that at least 77 people were rescued from the crash site with injuries.The C-130 Hercules aircraft went down soon after departing from Puerto Leguízamo, near Colombia’s southern border with Ecuador and Peru, leaving burning wreckage scattered across the jungle.
Bodies of the victims were taken to the small town's morgue
In a video posted on social media, Deputy Mayor Carlos Claros said that the bodies of the victims were taken to the small town's morgue, and that the only two clinics in town treated the injured before they were flown to larger cities. Puerto Leguizamo is located in Putumayo, an Amazonian province that borders Ecuador and Peru.
"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 on X that the plane that crashed Monday was transporting troops to another city in Putumayo.
Images showed black cloud of smoke rising from a field
Images shared online by Colombian media outlets showed a black cloud of smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed and a truck with soldiers rushing to the site. A spokesman from the Defense Ministry said that officials are still investigating the final number of fatalities.
A statement from the military command posted online by Colombian President Gustavo Petro had previously confirmed one dead. The air force said that 121 people were on board the Hercules C-130 plane, including 110 soldiers and 11 crew members.
Media outlets shared videos of soldiers being rushed from the site on motorcycles driven by local residents, while another group of residents tried to put out the fire that the plane crash had created in a field surrounded by dense foliage.
Details of the crash were not yet known
Carlos Fernando Silva, the commander of Colombia's air force, said details of the crash were not yet known, "except that the plane had a problem and went down about two kilometers from the airport". The air force commander added that two planes, with 74 beds, were sent to the area to fly the injured back to hospitals in the capital, Bogota, and elsewhere.
