At least 80 soldiers died on Monday following the crash of a Colombian army Hercules aircraft. There were 110 soldiers on board the aircraft.
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said that the accident occurred during takeoff from Puerto Leguízamo, deep in the Colombian Amazon region, on the border with Peru, while transporting troops, according to Reuters.
The Hercules aircraft „suffered a tragic accident at takeoff (…) while transporting troops,” announced X, „with deep sorrow,” the Colombian Defense Minister.
The causes of the accident have not yet been determined, he stated.
Hercules C-130 aircraft were first launched in the 1950s, and Colombia acquired its first models in the late 1960s. More recently, some of the older C-130s have been modernized, with newer models sent from the USA under a law that allows for the transfer of used or surplus military equipment.
Details about the aircraft involved in the accident are not available.
At the end of February, another Hercules C-130 belonging to the Bolivian Air Force crashed in the populated city of El Alto, near a residential block.
Over 20 people died and another 30 were injured, and the banknotes from the aircraft’s cargo scattered in the city, leading to clashes between residents and security forces.