Not less than 66 killed in army airplane crash in Colombia, head of armed forces says : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1280x720+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F00%2Ff9%2Fd39044a64805bdf153a8f430c985%2Fap26082713387474.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1280x720+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F00%2Ff9%2Fd39044a64805bdf153a8f430c985%2Fap26082713387474.jpg" class="img" alt="People stand around a military cargo plane that crashed after taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, a remote municipality in the Amazonian province of Putumayo, Monday, March 23, 2026." fetchpriority="high"/> Folks stand round a army cargo airplane that crashed after taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, a distant municipality within the Amazonian province of Putumayo, Monday, March 23, 2026. MiPutumayo/through AP cover caption

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MiPutumayo/through AP BOGOTA, Colombia — A army transport airplane with 128 folks on board, principally troopers, crashed shortly after taking off Monday in Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, killing a minimum of 66 folks and leaving dozens injured, the top of Colombia's armed forces mentioned.

Common Hugo Alejandro López Barreto mentioned that 4 army personnel had been nonetheless lacking.

"Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our army parts died," he mentioned.

"In the meanwhile, we have now no info, or indications, that it was an assault by an unlawful armed group," Barreto added.

In a video posted on social media, Deputy Mayor Carlos Claros mentioned that the our bodies of the victims had been taken to the small city's morgue, and that the one two clinics on the town handled the injured earlier than they had been flown to bigger cities. Puerto Leguizamo is situated in Putumayo, an Amazonian province that borders Ecuador and Peru.

"I need to thank the folks of Puerto Leguizamo who got here out to assist the victims of this accident," Claros informed Colombian tv station RCN.

Protection Minister Pedro Sánchez mentioned on X that the airplane that crashed Monday was transporting troops to a different metropolis in Putumayo.

Pictures shared on-line by Colombian media retailers confirmed a black cloud of smoke rising from a area the place the airplane crashed and a truck with troopers dashing to the location.

The airplane had 128 folks on board, together with 115 had been from the Military, 11 crew members and a couple of from the Nationwide Police. Baretto mentioned 57 folks had been evacuated.

Media retailers shared movies of troopers being rushed from the location on bikes pushed by native residents, whereas one other group of residents tried to place out the fireplace that the airplane crash had created in a area surrounded by dense foliage.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1600x1200+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F83%2F97%2F10688c0249ff9efeae4c5a4e54cd%2Fap26082719410304.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/1600x1200+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F83%2F97%2F10688c0249ff9efeae4c5a4e54cd%2Fap26082719410304.jpg" class="img" alt="In this photo distributed by Colombia's Armed Forces press office, people who were injured on a military cargo plane that crashed shortly after take off are loaded on to another military plane to evacuate them for treatment, from Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, Monday, March 23, 2026." loading="lazy"/> On this photograph distributed by Colombia's Armed Forces press workplace, individuals who had been injured on a army cargo airplane that crashed shortly after take off are loaded on to a different army airplane to evacuate them for therapy, from Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, Monday, March 23, 2026. Colombia's Armed Forces press workplace/through AP cover caption

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Colombia's Armed Forces press workplace/through AP Carlos Fernando Silva, the commander of Colombia's air pressure, mentioned particulars of the crash weren't but identified, "besides that the airplane had an issue and went down about two kilometers from the airport."

The air pressure commander added that two planes, with 74 beds, had been despatched to the realm to fly the injured again to hospitals within the capital, Bogota, and elsewhere.

Petro seized on the accident to advertise what he referred to as his longtime marketing campaign to modernize planes and different gear utilized by his nation's army, saying these efforts have been blocked by "bureaucratic difficulties" and suggesting that some officers must be held accountable.

"If civilian or army administrative officers are lower than the problem, they should be eliminated," Petro mentioned.

Critics of the president identified that army plane have been given much less flight hours underneath the Petro administration resulting from funds cuts, which results in much less skilled crews.

Erich Saumeth, a Colombian aviation skilled and army analyst, mentioned that the Hercules C-130 that crashed Monday had been donated by america to Colombia in 2020. Three years later, it went by way of an in depth revision generally known as an overhaul, by which its engines had been inspected and key elements had been changed.

"I do not suppose this airplane crashed due to a scarcity of excellent components," Saumeth mentioned. He mentioned that investigations should decide why the engines of the Hercules, which has 4 propellers, failed so rapidly after take off.

In a message on X Monday, Protection Minister Sánchez mentioned that up to now there have been no indicators indicating that the airplane was attacked by insurgent teams that function close to Puerto Leguizamo.

Sánchez wrote that the accident was "profoundly painful for the nation," including that: "We hope that our prayers can assist to alleviate a number of the ache."