A Colombian military C-130H Hercules transport plane crashed Monday in the rural south of the country, killing 66 in what local outlets have described as one of the worst military air disasters in the nation’s history.
Local newspaper El Colombiano reports the aircraft, a Colombian Armed Forces transport, came down at the municipality of Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo, a location in Southern Colombia.
At the time of the accident, the plane was reportedly restocking supplies and is believed to have had a total of 128 people on board, all members of the security forces. El Colombiano noted that, as of the early morning hours of Tuesday, 66 died in the crash, 57 were injured, and four officials remain missing.
Of the total number of injured, 15 are in critical condition, and nine of them have already been evacuated from the accident site. Three of the injured were urgently transferred to the capital city of Bogotá due to the severity of their injuries.
El Tiempo detailed that the aircraft had arrived for a stopover hours before the accident from the Military Air Transport Command (CATAM) in Bogotá, carrying 11 crew members, fuel, and two Navy trucks. During that stopover, El Tiempo wrote, Army platoons and Police officers boarded the plane and, seconds after takeoff, the plane crashed to the ground approximately 1.5 kilometers from the airfield.
The newspaper reportedly learned that several troop members were leaving for a break while others were arriving to relieve them for routine security operations being carried out in the region. The causes of the accident remain unknown at press time.
Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez reportedly said that the crashed aircraft was in airworthy condition and that the train was properly qualified — adding that, based on the information available so far, “there is no evidence of an attack by illegal actors.”
In this photo distributed by Colombia’s Armed Forces press office, people who were injured on a military cargo plane that crashed shortly after takeoff in Puerto Leguizamo, arrives at a military base for treatment in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, March 23, 2026. (Colombia’s Armed Forces press office via AP)
“As a result of the fire on the aircraft, some of the ammunition carried by the troops detonated, which explains the sounds heard in some videos circulating on social media,” he explained.
Sánchez described the accident as a tragic event for the country and sent a message of support to the families of those affected.
“May our prayers be with them and bring them some comfort,” he said.
Speaking to Caracol Radio on Monday afternoon (local time), Carlos Claros, Secretary of the Puerto Leguízamo municipal government, informed that soldiers on board the crashed aircraft jumped from the plane as it was breaking apart, which likely saved lives but also contributed to the nature of their injuries.
“These are young people who jumped out before the collision, so they’re badly shaken up inside and their condition is quite precarious. Action was taken quickly,” he said.
Far-left Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who is on the final months of his administration, lamented the accident.
According to the Colombian state-owned broadcaster RTVC, Petro linked the tragedy to the “cumulative deterioration of military equipment and to bureaucratic obstacles that, he said, have prevented the implementation of the modernization he ordered more than a year ago.”
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