At least eight people were killed and 83 others injured after a Colombian military aircraft crashed in southern Colombia's Putumayo region, with 14 of the wounded in critical condition, said Putumayo Governor Jhon Gabriel Molina.
There were 114 passengers and 11 crew members on board the C-130 Hercules transport plane, Carlos Silva, commander of the Colombian Aerospace Force (FAC), said in a video posted by the FAC on X, adding that an investigative team has been sent to determine the causes of the crash, Xinhua news agency reported.
Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X earlier Monday that a transport plane went down during takeoff from Puerto Leguizamo. He added that military units were at the scene, and the cause of the crash has not yet been determined.
Sanchez expressed his "sincere condolences" to the families of the victims, noting that all care protocols have been activated to support those affected. Some of the injured soldiers were flown to the capital Bogota for treatment. Sanchez has sent condolences to the families of those affected.
Petro said the crash “should never have happened.” He lamented the lack of modernization of the armed forces, which he attributed to “bureaucratic difficulties.” Colombian President Gustavo Petro thanked the people who rushed to the crash site to save the lives of those aboard.
Flight data shows the plane was a C-130H Hercules, an older model of the C-130 series that first entered service in March 1965, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The plane had been donated to the Colombian Air Force by the US Air Force in September 2020.