Colombian Military Plane Crashes in Amazon, Killing at Least 66 Soldiers

At least 66 people, mostly soldiers, died and dozens more were injured when a Colombian military transport plane, a Hercules C-130, crashed shortly after departing Puerto Leguizamo in the Amazon region. Local residents rushed to the site to help, and President Gustavo Petro praised their bravery while calling for urgent modernization of military equipment. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, and authorities say there’s no evidence of an attack. The incident follows a similar Hercules crash in Bolivia last month that killed over 20 people.

At least 66 people have tragically lost their lives in a military transport plane crash in southern Colombia, authorities confirmed on Tuesday. The aircraft, a Lockheed Martin Hercules C-130, was carrying at least 128 people, mostly soldiers, when it crashed shortly after taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, a municipality located in Colombia’s Amazonian region near the borders of Ecuador and Peru. Dozens of passengers were also injured in the crash, adding to the scale of the disaster.
Videos released by Colombian news outlets show local residents rushing to the site of the crash on Monday, attempting to rescue survivors and assist the injured. President Gustavo Petro took to X to commend the efforts of those who ran toward danger to help others. “That is how a homeland is built. I thank the fathers and mothers who ran across the distance to the crashed Hercules plane to save the children of other mothers and fathers,” he wrote, emphasizing the bravery and selflessness of ordinary citizens who acted quickly in the aftermath.
Petro also highlighted the crash as a reminder of the urgent need to modernize the military’s equipment, a cause he has championed for years. He insisted that delays in upgrading planes and other military hardware are unacceptable when the lives of young personnel are at stake. “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.”
The cause of the crash is still under investigation, and officials have not yet confirmed any technical failures or human error. General Hugo Alejandro Lopez Barreto, the head of Colombia’s armed forces, emphasized that there is no evidence to suggest the plane was attacked by any rebel groups operating in the vicinity of Puerto Leguizamo. Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash, including examining the aircraft’s maintenance records and flight data.
This tragic incident follows a similar crash in Bolivia last month, when another Hercules C-130, operated by the Bolivian Air Force, went down near the city of El Alto. That accident resulted in the deaths of more than 20 people and injuries to roughly 30 others. The Bolivian crash also caused widespread chaos as banknotes from the plane’s cargo were scattered across the city, leading to clashes between local residents and security forces attempting to restore order.
The Colombian crash has sparked nationwide grief and renewed debate over the condition and modernization of the country’s military fleet. Families of the victims are mourning, while first responders and local residents who assisted in the rescue operations have been hailed for their courage and quick action. The disaster highlights the ongoing challenges faced by military transport operations in remote regions and underscores the critical importance of ensuring safety, proper equipment, and readiness to prevent similar tragedies in the future.