Overview
- Defense Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sánchez confirmed the accident during takeoff from Puerto Leguízamo in Colombia’s southern Amazon region near the Peru border.
- Local media report roughly 110 military personnel were aboard, though the exact number of victims has not been confirmed by authorities.
- Rescue teams and military units are at the site, with reports indicating about 20 people have been pulled from the wreckage so far.
- Footage from the scene shows heavy smoke, flames, and a severely damaged fuselage, consistent with witness accounts of a crash shortly after liftoff.
- The aircraft was a Lockheed C-130 Hercules used for troop transport, and victim-assistance protocols have been activated as the cause remains under investigation.