Overview
- The Colombian Air Force transport went down during or just after takeoff near Puerto Leguízamo by the Ecuador border, leaving at least 66 dead and many injured.
- Officials say the aircraft carried security forces, and a military source reported 125 people on board with the dead including 58 soldiers, six airmen, and two police officers.
- Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said troops are at the site and investigators have found no sign of an attack by illegal armed groups.
- Fire in the wreckage set off ammunition the forces were carrying, which matched blasts heard in video and complicated rescue and accounting.
- President Gustavo Petro called the loss a grave blow and pointed to the need to modernize the fleet, as the crash follows a recent Bolivian C-130 disaster and renews scrutiny of how these workhorse transports are maintained in the region.