A Lockheed Martin (LMT. N) Hercules C-130 military aircraft carrying about 110 soldiers crashed in southern Colombia on Monday, according to the country’s defence ministry, with local media reporting that the plane went down shortly after take-off.
Video footage circulating online showed the aircraft engulfed in flames.
The country’s defence minister Pedro Sanchez said the accident occurred as the aircraft was taking off from Puerto Leguizamo in Colombia’s southern Amazon region near the border with Peru. The plane was transporting troops from the armed forces at the time.
“The exact number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been determined,” he said, as cited by Reuters.
BluRadio, citing authorities, reported that about 110 soldiers were on board the aircraft and that the crash occurred just 3 km (2 miles) from an urban centre.
In a separate incident at the end of February, another Hercules C-130 aircraft belonging to the Bolivian Air Force crashed in the densely populated city of El Alto, narrowly missing a residential block.
More than 20 people were killed and around 30 others were injured, while banknotes from the plane’s cargo were scattered across the city.
