At least 66 people were killed after a Colombian military transport aircraft crashed shortly after take-off in the country’s southwest on Monday, authorities said, in one of the deadliest air disasters involving the armed forces in recent years.
The aircraft, a C-130 Hercules, went down at around 9:50 a.m. local time near the municipality of Puerto Leguízamo, in a remote jungle region close to the borders with Peru and Ecuador.
According to Colombia’s Defence Ministry, 128 people were on board the aircraft, including 11 crew members from the Colombian Aerospace Force, 115 members of the army and two police officers.
By late Monday, officials confirmed 66 fatalities: six from the air force, 58 from the army and two from the police. Rescue teams managed to evacuate 57 survivors, many of whom sustained injuries. Eight were transferred to hospitals in Florencia, while 49 were flown to Bogotá, where 19 are being treated at the Military Hospital and others for less serious injuries at a military medical facility.
Authorities said one soldier survived unharmed, while four others remained missing as search operations continued in dense jungle terrain.
The aircraft, identified as FAC 1016, had taken off from Puerto Leguízamo en route to Puerto Asís, roughly 200 kilometres away, when it lost altitude and crashed within minutes of departure.
Military officials said the plane went down about two kilometres from the airport in a rural area. Witnesses reported a fireball upon impact, followed by secondary explosions.
Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez said the situation was worsened by the detonation of ammunition being transported by troops on board.
“As a consequence of the fire, part of the ammunition carried by the personnel exploded,” Sánchez said, complicating rescue and recovery efforts.
Emergency crews faced significant challenges accessing the crash site due to the remote Amazonian terrain, while the condition of many bodies has made identification difficult.
No signs of attack
Military authorities said there is no evidence so far that the crash was caused by an attack.
“At this time, there is no information or indication that this was the result of an attack by any illegal armed group,” said General Hugo López, who added that a full investigation is underway.
The region where the aircraft crashed is known for the presence of dissident factions of the former FARC guerrilla group, which operate in areas with extensive coca cultivation used for cocaine production. However, officials stressed that current evidence points away from sabotage.
Questions over aircraft condition
The crash has triggered a political debate over the condition of Colombia’s military fleet, just weeks ahead of the country’s presidential elections.
The aircraft involved was a C-130H Hercules, an older variant of the widely used military transport plane originally introduced in the 1960s by Lockheed Martin.
According to available data, the aircraft had been in service since the early 1980s and was transferred to Colombia by the United States in 2020.
President Gustavo Petro suggested the plane represented outdated equipment acquired by a previous administration.
“In 2020, scrap was purchased,” Petro said on social media, referring to the government of former president Iván Duque. He added that his administration had sought to modernize military equipment but faced bureaucratic obstacles.
Opposition figures, however, argued that budget cuts under Petro’s government have affected maintenance and operational readiness within the armed forces.
In a message posted online, Petro expressed condolences to the families of the victims and praised residents of Putumayo who rushed to assist survivors.
“This is how a nation is built,” he wrote, thanking locals who reached the crash site on foot and by motorcycle to provide water and aid.
Authorities said the investigation will examine technical, mechanical and operational factors, including maintenance records and flight data, as Colombia seeks answers to a tragedy that has shaken the country’s military and reignited debate over defence policy.
