66 Killed in Colombia Military Crash   03/24 06:13

   

   BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- A military transport plane with 128 people on 
board, mostly soldiers, crashed shortly after taking off Monday in Puerto 
Leguizamo, Colombia, killing at least 66 people and leaving dozens injured, the 
head of Colombia's armed forces said.

   General Hugo Alejandro Lpez Barreto said that four military personnel were 
still missing.

   "Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our military 
elements died," he said.

   "At the moment, we have no information, or indications, that it was an 
attack by an illegal armed group," Barreto added.

   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.

   "I want to thank the people of Puerto Leguizamo who came out to help the 
victims of this accident," Claros told Colombian television station RCN.

   Defense Minister Pedro Snchez said on X that the plane that crashed Monday 
was transporting troops to another city in Putumayo.

   Images shared online by Colombian media outlets showed a black cloud of 
smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed and a truck with soldiers 
rushing to the site.

   The airplane had 128 people on board, including 115 were from the Army, 11 
crew members and 2 from the National Police. Baretto said 57 people were 
evacuated.

   Media outlets shared videos of soldiers being rushed from the site on 
motorcycles driven by local residents, while another group of residents tried 
to put out the fire that the plane crash had created in a field surrounded by 
dense foliage.

   Carlos Fernando Silva, the commander of Colombia's air force, said details 
of the crash were not yet known, "except that the plane had a problem and went 
down about two kilometers from the airport."

   The air force commander added that two planes, with 74 beds, were sent to 
the area to fly the injured back to hospitals in the capital, Bogota, and 
elsewhere.

   Petro seized on the accident to promote what he called his longtime 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.

   Critics of the president pointed out that military aircraft have been given 
less flight hours under the Petro administration due to budget cuts, which 
leads to less experienced crews.

   Erich Saumeth, a Colombian aviation expert and military analyst, said that 
the Hercules C-130 that crashed Monday had been donated by the United States to 
Colombia in 2020. Three years later, it went through a detailed revision known 
as an overhaul, in which its engines were inspected and key components were 
replaced.

   "I don't think this plane crashed because of a lack of good parts," Saumeth 
said. He said that investigations will have to determine why the engines of the 
Hercules, which has four propellers, failed so quickly after take off.

   In a message on X Monday, Defense Minister Snchez said that so far there 
were no signs indicating that the plane was attacked by rebel groups that 
operate near Puerto Leguizamo.

   Snchez 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."