Colombia Hercules C-130 Plane Crash: 66 Dead, 57 Injured

A Colombian Air Force (FAC) Hercules C-130 aircraft crashed in Puerto Leguízamo, in the Amazonian department of Putumayo, on Monday, resulting in 66 confirmed fatalities, four individuals listed as missing, and one survivor, according to the Colombian military. The number of injured has been revised down to 57.

Of those killed, 58 were members of the Colombian National Army, six were FAC crew members, and two were police officers. Search efforts continue for the four remaining individuals unaccounted for, authorities stated.

General Hugo Alejandro López, commander of the Colombian Armed Forces, confirmed a total of 128 people were aboard the aircraft. The FAC has identified the fallen aircrew as Lieutenant Colonel Juan Pablo Amador Pinilla, Major Jaime Alexander Fernández Camargo, Major Natalia Rojas Velandia, Sergeant Julián David González Herrera, First Technician Javier Fernando Méndez Torres, and Second Technician Jhonathan Stid Pinzón Reyes. Subintendent Ariel Leonardo Villota Guevara and Patrolman Carlos Elías de la Cruz Gutiérrez, of the National Police, were also among the deceased.

According to the FAC, 57 military personnel were rescued and evacuated following the crash. Eight were transported to Florencia, the capital of the Caquetá department, while 49 were moved to Bogotá. Of those evacuated to the capital, 19 are receiving treatment at the Military Hospital, and an additional 30, described as having non-life-threatening injuries, are being cared for at the Military Health Battalion, General López reported.

The FAC confirmed that four military personnel remain missing as the process of identifying the victims continues. The crash occurred Monday morning when the aircraft went down and subsequently caught fire shortly after taking off from the Puerto Leguízamo airport, in a remote, heavily forested area of Putumayo. The cause of the crash remains unknown.

Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez Suárez, a retired FAC general, stated that a thorough investigation will be conducted. “The investigation will be rigorous, transparent and as swift as possible. The country will know the truth,” he said.

Initial reports following the crash contained conflicting information regarding the number of victims and passengers, prompting authorities to request that the public and media rely solely on official information as data was consolidated. Minister Sánchez Suárez also expressed his condolences to the families of those affected. “These are not numbers, these are lives, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, heroes and heroines who today leave an irreparable void in their families and in the whole country,” he stated.