Colombian Air Force Plane Crashes After Takeoff, Killing One and Injuring 77 in Amazon Region

LA Colombian Air Force plane carrying 125 people crashed shortly after takeoff in the country’s southern Amazon region on Monday, killing at least one person and hospitalizing 77 others, authorities said.

President Gustavo Petro stated in a post on X that officials have not yet confirmed the status of more than 40 people on board.

“So far, there have been 77 injured at the hospital, one dead, 43 people whose status is yet to be determined.The causes of the Hercules plane accident are still unknown.Strength to the families of the young soldiers of the Homeland, ” Gustavo said.

The aircraft, which carried 114 passengers and 11 crew members, departed from Puerto Leguízamo in Putumayo near the borders with Peru and Ecuador.

Officials said the cause of the crash remains unknown.

Air Force Commander General Carlos Fernando Silva confirmed that emergency responders dispatched an air ambulance to the scene.

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Colombia Defense Minister

Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez described the incident as a “tragic accident.”

Sanchez said the cause of the crash was being investigated.

“I hope there are no fatalities in ‌this horrific accident that should never have happened,” President Petro ‌said in a post on X, in which he criticized “bureaucratic difficulties” for delaying his plans to modernize the military.

“I will grant no further delays; it is the lives of our young people that are at stake,” he said. “If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to this challenge, they must be removed.”

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Images from the scene showed thick black smoke rising from the crash site as soldiers rushed to respond. Authorities also reported that the plane went down about three kilometers from an urban center.

Officials have not yet determined the exact number of victims or the cause of the crash.

Colombia has been using the Hercules C-130 planes since the 1960s [FILE: Dec 1, 2018. PHOTO/ Timothy L. Hale/ZUMA/picture alliance.