COLOMBIA: At least 66 people were killed after a Colombian military C-130 Hercules crashed seconds after takeoff from Puerto Leguizamo in the southern department of Putumayo, in one of the country’s deadliest recent military aviation disasters. Military authorities said dozens of survivors were flown to medical centers after the aircraft went down on Monday morning during a transport mission, and four people were still listed as missing as search and recovery operations continued into the next day.
Colombia’s air force identified the aircraft as FAC 1016, a Hercules transport plane that departed at 9:54 a.m. local time on a flight from Puerto Leguizamo to Puerto Asis. An initial official statement said the plane was carrying an 11-member crew and 110 army soldiers on a troop and cargo mission. Subsequent military updates put the toll far higher than first reported, as emergency teams worked through the wreckage and evacuated the injured from the remote Amazon region.
The crash site lay about two kilometers from the airport, according to military officials, and rescuers faced logistical challenges because of the area’s isolation and limited medical infrastructure. Injured personnel were first taken to Puerto Leguizamo’s local clinics before being transferred on military aircraft to larger hospitals. Residents joined soldiers and emergency crews in moving victims from the scene, where images from the area showed blackened wreckage and a heavy military presence as investigators secured the perimeter.
Investigation Continues
Authorities said the cause of the crash remained under investigation and warned against drawing conclusions before technical teams completed their review. Senior military officials said there was no immediate indication that the aircraft had been brought down by an attack from an illegal armed group. The Defense Ministry and the armed forces said priority was being given to identifying the dead, locating the missing and supporting relatives as recovery work continued in Putumayo.
Later military statements confirmed that six air force officers and noncommissioned officers were among those killed in the accident, underscoring the scale of the loss inside Colombia’s security forces. The Hercules involved in the crash had been part of the country’s military transport fleet after a U.S. transfer and had recently undergone overhaul work. The aircraft type has long been used to move troops, equipment and supplies into remote parts of Colombia where river and air access are essential.
Fleet Scrutiny Intensifies
The disaster quickly became a national issue, renewing scrutiny of Colombia’s aging military fleet and the pace of procurement decisions. President Gustavo Petro said bureaucratic delays had slowed efforts to modernize the armed forces’ aircraft, while the government ordered a full investigation into the circumstances of the crash. Officials did not release a final manifest in the immediate aftermath, but said the flight was carrying more than 120 people, most of them military personnel assigned to operations in the south.
By Tuesday, rescue teams were still combing the area around Puerto Leguizamo as authorities updated casualty lists and coordinated support for families of the dead and injured. The crash added to pressure on the military to explain the condition of key transport aircraft used in difficult terrain, but officials said their immediate focus remained on recovery, medical care and the formal investigation into what happened after the plane lifted off from the runway – By Content Syndication Services.