ALBAWABA- A Colombian military Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules carrying 110 soldiers crashed shortly after takeoff in the southern Amazon region near the Peruvian border, authorities said Monday, with casualties still unconfirmed.
Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez said the aircraft went down near Puerto Leguizamo, just three kilometres from an urban area, shortly after departure. The plane was ferrying troops at the time of the incident.
Officials have not released details on survivors or the aircraft’s intended destination. Emergency responders and investigation teams have been deployed to the crash site, but the cause of the incident remains unknown.
BREAKING: Colombian Air Force plane carrying 110 people crashes near Puerto Leguízamo - local media pic.twitter.com/YroHAk1lHG
— BNO News Live (@BNODesk) March 23, 2026
President Gustavo Petro described the crash as a “horrific accident that should never have happened,” expressing hope that there were no fatalities. He also criticised delays in modernising the military’s ageing fleet, noting that many of Colombia’s C-130 aircraft date back to the 1960s.
Petro warned that further bureaucratic delays would not be tolerated, saying “the lives of our young people are at stake.”
The crash follows a similar incident involving a Bolivian Air Force C-130 in February that killed more than 20 people, raising renewed concerns about the safety of ageing military transport aircraft in the region.
