66 killed, several injured as Colombian military plane with 115 soldiers onboard crashes
PTC News Desk: At least 66 people were killed and several others injured after a Colombian military plane crashed after takeoff on Monday. The critically injured people were rushed to nearby hospitals.
The C-130 Hercules aircraft went down shortly after departure from Puerto Leguizamo, near the southern border with Ecuador and Peru, strewing burning wreckage on the jungle floor.
The death toll was almost double that of what authorities confirmed earlier as they continued with search and rescue operations. Reportedly the crash happened after the plane suffered the impact near the end of the runway.
The crash was so severe that it caused the plane to catch fire and detonate some sort of explosives laden on the plane.
Rsidents of the nearby area swung into action and initated rescue operation on their level as they started pulling out the survivors and transported the wounded soldiers for medical assistance.
President Gustavo Petro, in the twilight of his administration, on Monday criticised bureaucratic obstacles for delaying his plans to modernise the military.
“I will grant no further delays; it is the lives of our young people that are at stake,” he said in a post on X. “If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to this challenge, they must be removed.”
- With inputs from agencies
