A military transport plane carrying 121 people crashed shortly after takeoff on Monday in Colombia, killing at least one person and leaving at least 77 injured after the Hercules aircraft experienced problems moments after departing Puerto Leguízamo in Putumayo province.
General Carlos Fernando Silva Rueda said in a post on X that they have no details on what caused the crash at the moment. “At the moment, we have no details on what caused the plane to crash other than that as soon as it took off, it experienced a problem and crashed a couple of kilometers from the airport,” the general said.
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said the Hercules aircraft suffered the “tragic accident” while taking off from Puerto Leguízamo and that it was transporting troops from Colombia’s Public Force. “I express my most sincere condolences to the families of those affected and, in respect for their pain, I call for avoiding speculation until official information is available. It is a deeply painful event for the country. May our prayers accompany and, to some extent, alleviate the sorrow,” Sánchez wrote on X.
Sánchez said the aircraft was in “airworthy condition” and that the crew was qualified. He said the plane crashed and fell to the ground “approximately one and a half kilometers from the aerodrome.” He said several injured individuals were evacuated and once the complete list of injuries and fatalities is confirmed, they will share more.
“According to the information available up to this point, there are no indications of an attack by illegal actors,” Sánchez confirmed. Because of the fire, some of the ammunition being transported by the troops detonated, which Sanchez says matches the sounds that can be heard in video circulating on social media.
Images and video shared on social media showed a black cloud of smoke rising from the crash site and a truck full of soldiers rushing to the scene. In a statement from the air force, at least 77 people were rescued with injuries as efforts continued. A statement by Colombian President Gustavo Petro confirmed at least one person was dead.
Of the 121 people on board, 110 are soldiers and the other 11 are crew members. Two planes with 74 beds have been sent to the area to fly those injured to Colombia’s capital of Bogota.
The crash marks one of the deadliest military aviation accidents in Colombia in recent years. Investigators will examine whether mechanical failure, pilot error, or other factors caused the Hercules to go down so shortly after takeoff. The fact that the plane crashed only one and a half kilometers from the runway suggests catastrophic failure during the critical initial climb phase.
