At least 66 killed, dozens hurt in Colombian military plane crash after takeoff

At ​least ​66 people were ⁠killed ​on Monday (March 23) ​when a Colombian Air Force ​plane ​carrying 125 people ‌crashed ⁠just after takeoff, the governor ​of ​Colombia’s ⁠Putumayo department ​said.

Colombia’s defense ministry said on Monday a Lockheed Martin Hercules C-130 plane crashed on take-off in the south of the country.

A Colombian military C-130 plane crashed during takeoff in the Amazon region near Peru.

About 110 soldiers were on board, but the number of casualties and cause are still unknown. pic.twitter.com/0XOvXpm4Aw

— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 23, 2026

Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said the accident happened as the plane was taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, deep in Colombia’s southern Amazon region on the border with Peru, as it transported troops.

Two military sources told Reuters that 57 people had been evacuated alive from the wreckage.

BluRadio cited authorities as saying 110 soldiers were on board, and the crash took place just 3 km (2 miles) from an urban center. Footage it shared from the scene showed thick plumes of smoke rising from the wreckage.

US defense company Lockheed Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hercules C-130 planes were first launched in the 1950s, and Colombia acquired its first models in the late 1960s. It has more recently modernized some older C-130s with newer models sent from the US under a law that allows for the transfer of used or surplus military equipment.

Details of the plane involved in the accident were not immediately available.

At the end of February, another Hercules C-130 belonging to the Bolivian Air Force crashed in the populous city of El Alto, barely missing a residential block.

More than 20 people died, and another 30 were injured, and banknotes from the plane’s cargo scattered around the city, prompting clashes between residents and security forces.