The disaster of the military Hercules in Colombia. 125 people on board

In the southeastern part of Colombia, in the city of Puerto Leguizamo, a Colombian Hercules C-130 military transport plane with 125 people on board crashed on Monday; eight of them died and 15 are in critical condition, Colombian media reported.

The governor of Putumayo province, Jhon Gabriel Molina, confirmed that at least eight people were killed, while Colombian President Gustavo Pedro reported one death and 77 injured.

Molina added that the health condition of 15 injured people is assessed as critical.

Colombian Air Force commander Carlos Fernando Silva said the plane had 114 passengers and 11 crew members.

The crash occurred shortly after the plane took off from the airport in Puerto Leguizamo, about 3 km from the city center and close to the border with Peru.

Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez previously wrote on the X platform that the number of victims is not yet known and the causes of the accident have not yet been determined. He added that “this is a very painful event for the country.”

According to media findings, two platoons of the National Army of Colombia were traveling on the plane.

In a message on X, Gustavo Pedro blamed the disaster on bureaucratic obstacles delaying the modernization of the army. The first American Hercules C-130 aircraft were produced in the 1950s, and Colombia acquired the aircraft in the late 1960s. Some older C-130s have recently been modernized, replacing them with newer models imported from the United States under a law authorizing the transfer of used or surplus military equipment.

At the end of February, a Hercules C-130 plane belonging to the Bolivian Air Force crashed in the city of El Alto. 24 people were killed and over 40 were injured. (PAP)

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