At least 66 killed in military plane crash in Colombia, head of armed
forces says
[March 24, 2026]
By MANUEL RUEDA
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A military transport plane with 128 people on
board, mostly soldiers, crashed shortly after taking off Monday in
Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, killing at least 66 people and leaving
dozens injured, the head of Colombia’s armed forces said.
General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto said that four military personnel
were still missing.
“Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our military
elements died,” he said.
“At the moment, we have no information, or indications, that it was an
attack by an illegal armed group,” Barreto added.
In a video posted on social media, Deputy Mayor Carlos Claros said that
the bodies of the victims were taken to the small town's morgue, and
that the only two clinics in town treated the injured before they were
flown to larger cities. Puerto Leguizamo is located in Putumayo, an
Amazonian province that borders Ecuador and Peru.
“I want to thank the people of Puerto Leguizamo who came out to help the
victims of this accident,” Claros told Colombian television station RCN.
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said on X that the plane that crashed
Monday was transporting troops to another city in Putumayo.
Images shared online by Colombian media outlets showed a black cloud of
smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed and a truck with
soldiers rushing to the site.
The airplane had 128 people on board, including 115 were from the Army,
11 crew members and 2 from the National Police. Baretto said 57 people
were evacuated.
Media outlets shared videos of soldiers being rushed from the site on
motorcycles driven by local residents, while another group of residents
tried to put out the fire that the plane crash had created in a field
surrounded by dense foliage.
Carlos Fernando Silva, the commander of Colombia’s air force, said
details of the crash were not yet known, "except that the plane had a
problem and went down about two kilometers from the airport.”
The air force commander added that two planes, with 74 beds, were sent
to the area to fly the injured back to hospitals in the capital, Bogota,
and elsewhere.
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People stand around a military cargo plane that crashed after taking
off from Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, a remote municipality in the
Amazonian province of Putumayo, Monday, March 23, 2026. (MiPutumayo
via AP)
Petro seized on the accident to promote what he called his longtime
campaign to modernize planes and other equipment used by his
country’s military, saying those efforts have been blocked by
“bureaucratic difficulties” and suggesting that some officials
should be held accountable.
“If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to the
challenge, they must be removed,” Petro said.
Critics of the president pointed out that military aircraft have
been given less flight hours under the Petro administration due to
budget cuts, which leads to less experienced crews.
Erich Saumeth, a Colombian aviation expert and military analyst,
said that the Hercules C-130 that crashed Monday had been donated by
the United States to Colombia in 2020. Three years later, it went
through a detailed revision known as an overhaul, in which its
engines were inspected and key components were replaced.
“I don't think this plane crashed because of a lack of good parts,”
Saumeth said. He said that investigations will have to determine why
the engines of the Hercules, which has four propellers, failed so
quickly after take off.
In a message on X Monday, Defense Minister Sánchez said that so far
there were no signs indicating that the plane was attacked by rebel
groups that operate near Puerto Leguizamo.
Sánchez wrote that the accident was “profoundly painful for the
country,” adding that: “We hope that our prayers can help to relieve
some of the pain.”
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