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Colombian Air Force plane crashes with 110 soldiers onboard prompting huge emergency response


A Colombian military plane has crashed with over 100 soldiers on board, the country's defence ministry has said.

Two sources have said that 57 people have been rescued from the site.


The aircraft came down near the town of Puerto Leguízamo, in Putumayo province, south Colombia.

It is reported the plane was Lockheed Martin LMT.N Hercules C-130 aircraft.



Colombia's defence minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the aircraft suffered "a tragic accident while it was taking off from Puerto Leguízamo, transporting troops of our security forces", the BBC reports.

He did not say how many casualties were involved, if any, but described the crash as "deeply sad for the country".

In a video seen by GB News, a military aircraft is seen taking off, however, does not make much height or distance until it begins to descend.

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro said in a post on X: "I hope there are no fatalities in this horrific accident that should never have happened", also criticising bureaucratic obstacles for delaying his plans to modernise the military.


\u200bA video from X shows people running towards a crash site, with smoke pluming in the distance

I will grant no further delays; it is the lives of our young people that are at stake.

"If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to this challenge, they must be removed."

The town of Puerto Leguízamo is close to the Colombian-Peruvian border.

Hercules C-130 aircraft were first introduced in the 1950s, with Colombia acquiring its initial fleet in the late 1960s.

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Plane crash site in flames in Puerto Legu\u00edzamo

In recent years, some of these ageing planes have been upgraded using newer models supplied by the United States under a programme allowing the transfer of surplus military equipment.

Details about the specific aircraft involved in the latest crash are not immediately clear.

The incident comes just weeks after another Bolivian Air Force C-130 crashed in the densely populated city of El Alto at the end of February.

That crash killed more than 20 people and injured around 30 others, while banknotes carried onboard were scattered across the city sparking clashes between residents and security forces.










from GB News https://ift.tt/y2wex4m

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