A catastrophic military aviation accident has claimed the lives of at least 66 people in southern Colombia.
A C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, carrying 125 personnel, crashed shortly after takeoff from Puerto Leguizamo on Monday morning, March 23, 2026.
The plane was transporting troops to an Amazonian outpost near the borders of Ecuador and Peru when it plummeted into the dense jungle.
According to official reports from the Colombian Defence Ministry, the victims include 58 soldiers, six air force personnel, and two police officers.
While dozens were rescued from the burning wreckage, the remote location and small size of the local airstrip have significantly hindered emergency evacuation efforts.
Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed profound grief over the incident, noting that it is too early to determine the exact cause of the mechanical failure.
In a statement to the press, Sanchez said:
“It is a deeply painful event for the country. May our prayers bring some measure of comfort. It is too early to determine the cause of the crash, but investigators are already on the ground probing the disaster.”
President Gustavo Petro described the event as a "horrific accident" and used the moment to advocate for the modernization of the nation’s aging military hardware.
This tragedy marks the second major C-130 crash in South America within a month, raising urgent questions about the maintenance of the widely used turboprop aircraft across the continent.
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