Not less than 66 individuals had been killed and 4 stay lacking after a Hercules C-130 navy transport airplane with 128 on board crashed shortly after takeoff
The airplane concerned within the crash had 121 individuals on board (Picture: Getty)
A navy transport plane carrying 128 individuals, predominantly troopers, crashed shortly after departure on Monday in Puerto Leguizamo, Colombia, leading to at the very least 66 fatalities and leaving dozens wounded, based on the pinnacle of Colombia’s armed forces.
Normal Hugo Alejandro Lopez Barreto confirmed that 4 navy personnel remained unaccounted for.
“Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our navy parts died,” he stated.
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“In the meanwhile, we have now no info, or indications, that it was an assault by an unlawful armed group,” Mr Barreto added.
In footage posted on social media, deputy mayor Carlos Claros defined that the victims’ our bodies had been transported to the small city’s morgue, while the city’s solely two clinics handled the wounded earlier than they had been airlifted to bigger city centres. Puerto Leguizamo is located in Putumayo, an Amazonian province bordering Ecuador and Peru.
“I need to thank the individuals of Puerto Leguizamo who got here out to assist the victims of this accident,” Mr Claros instructed Colombian tv station RCN.
Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X that the plane which crashed on Monday was transporting troops to a different metropolis inside Putumayo.
Footage circulated on-line by Colombian media shops depicted a black plume of smoke billowing from a area the place the plane got here down, alongside a lorry carrying troopers racing in the direction of the scene.
The plane was carrying 128 individuals, comprising 115 from the Military, 11 crew members and two from the Nationwide Police. Mr Baretto confirmed 57 individuals had been evacuated.
Media shops broadcasted footage of troopers being rapidly evacuated from the crash web site on bikes pushed by native inhabitants, while one other group of locals tried to extinguish the fireplace ignited by the airplane crash in a area enveloped by thick vegetation.
Carlos Fernando Silva, the commander of Colombia’s air pressure, said that particulars of the crash weren’t but identified, “besides that the airplane had an issue and went down about two kilometres from the airport”.
Army personnel transferred to CATAM Air Base following lethal C-130 crash in Putumayo (Picture: Getty)
The air pressure commander additional famous that two planes, geared up with 74 beds, had been dispatched to the area to airlift the injured again to hospitals within the capital, Bogota, and different places.
Mr Petro capitalised on the accident to advocate for what he termed his long-standing marketing campaign to modernise plane and different navy tools utilized by his nation, stating that these efforts have been hindered by “bureaucratic difficulties” and implying that sure officers must be held accountable.
“If civilian or navy administrative officers are lower than the problem, they have to be eliminated,” Mr Petro declared.
Detractors of the president highlighted that navy plane have been allotted fewer flight hours underneath the Petro administration attributable to price range cuts, leading to much less skilled crews.
Erich Saumeth, a Colombian aviation professional and navy analyst, revealed that the Hercules C-130 that crashed on Monday had been donated by america to Colombia in 2020. Three years on, it underwent a complete overhaul, throughout which its engines had been inspected and key parts changed.
“I do not suppose this airplane crashed due to a scarcity of fine components,” Mr Saumeth said. He recommended that investigations might want to confirm why the engines of the Hercules, which boasts 4 propellers, failed so swiftly after take-off.
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In a message on X Monday, Mr Sanchez confirmed that to date there have been no indications that the airplane was focused by insurgent teams working close to Puerto Leguizamo.
Mr Sanchez expressed that the accident was “profoundly painful for the nation”, including: “We hope that our prayers may help to alleviate among the ache.”
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