By Luis Jaime Acosta, Iñigo Alexander and Sarah Morland
BOGOTA, March 23 (Reuters) – At least 34 people were killed when a Colombian Air Force plane carrying 125 people crashed just after takeoff deep in the country’s southern Amazon region on Monday, authorities said.
“Unfortunately, the information is of 34 deaths,” Luis Emilio Bustos, the mayor of the nearby town of Puerto Leguizamo, told Reuters.
Jhon Gabriel Molina, governor of the Putumayo department, said in an interview with local news outlet Caracol Noticias that 34 were killed and 21 still to be identified.
The accident occurred as the Lockheed Martin-built Hercules C-130 transport plane was taking off from Puerto Leguizamo on the border with Peru, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said earlier on X.
The plane hit the ground just one and a half kilometers (one mile) away from where it took off, and ammunition being carried on board detonated as a result of a fire on the aircraft, he later said.
There was no indication of an “attack by illegal actors,” and the plane was airworthy with a qualified crew ahead of departure, Sanchez added.
(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta in Bogota and Iñigo Alexander and Sarah Morland in Mexico City; Additional reporting by Mike Stone in Washington and Maria Paula Laguna in Mexico City; Editing by Gabriel Araujo, Julia Symmes Cobb, Chris Reese and Deepa Babington and Christian Plumb)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.