Death toll rises to at least 33 in Colombian military plane crash
Posted on: Mar 23, 2026 23:50 IST | Posted by: Cbc
A Colombian war machine send skim with 121 people on room, mostly soldiers, crashed shortly after taking away Monday in Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, killing at least 33 people and leaving at least 81 injured, according to the town's deputy mayor.
In a video posted on social media, Deputy Mayor Carlos Claros said that the bodies of the victims were taken to the small town's morgue, and that the only two clinics in town treated the injured before they were flown to larger cities.
Puerto Leguizamo is located in Putumayo, an Amazonian province that borders Ecuador and Peru.
Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez said on X that the plane that crashed Monday was transporting troops to another city in Putumayo.
The air force said at least 77 people were rescued from the crash site with injuries, as rescue efforts were continuing. A spokesperson from the Defence Ministry said that officials are still investigating the final number of fatalities. A statement from the military command posted online by Colombian President Gustavo Petro had previously confirmed one dead.
The air force said that 121 people were on board the Hercules C-130 plane, including 110 soldiers and 11 crew members.
"At this moment we do not know details" of the crash, Carlos Fernando Silva, the commander of Colombia's air force said, "except that the plane had a problem and went down about two kilometres from the airport." Silva said that two planes, with 74 beds, had been sent to the area to fly the injured back to hospitals in Bogota and elsewhere.
Petro seized on the accident to promote what he called his long-time campaign to modernize planes and other equipment used by his country's military, saying those efforts have been blocked by "bureaucratic difficulties" and suggesting that some officials should be held accountable.
"If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to the challenge, they must be removed," Petro said.
Sánchez wrote that the accident was "profoundly painful for the country," adding that "we hope that our prayers can help to relieve some of the pain."
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