The accident of a Hercules C-130 aircraft from the Colombian Air Force (FAC), which crashed after taking off with 128 people on board from the Amazonian city of Puerto Leguízamo in the Putumayo department, left at least 66 military personnel dead and 57 injured on Monday, as well as four missing and one uninjured. "There were 128 people on the aircraft, including 11 FAC crew members, 115 men from the National Army, and two from the National Police," stated last night the commander of the Armed Forces, General Hugo Alejandro López, who clarified that the plane had three more people than the initially reported 125. General López added: "Unfortunately, as a result of this tragic accident, 66 of our military personnel have died and are in the process of identification.

" According to his report, 58 of the deceased were members of the Army, six were crew members of the FAC, and the other two were members of the National Police. "Currently, four of our military personnel are still unaccounted for," he indicated. The military chief added that there are 57 injured military personnel who were evacuated, of which eight were transferred to the city of Florencia, the capital of the neighboring department of Caquetá, and 49 to Bogotá.

Of the injured transferred to the capital, 19 are receiving care at the Military Hospital, and another 30 "who are not in serious condition" were admitted to the Military Sanitation Battalion, General López added. Throughout the day, there was confusion regarding the victims of the incident as the plane caught fire after crashing in a remote jungle area on the outskirts of Puerto Leguízamo, an Amazonian city located near the border with Ecuador and Peru. According to Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez Suárez, "as a result of the aircraft fire, part of the ammunition transported by the troops detonated," which worsened the situation at the accident site.

"According to the information available so far, there are no indications of an attack by illegal actors," added the Defense Minister, as several dissident groups from the former FARC guerrilla operate in the area, such as the so-called Border Commandos and the Carolina Ramírez Front, which control illicit crops in Putumayo. The accident occurred at 9:50 local time (11:50 Chilean time) when the FAC 1016 aircraft, which had just taken off from Puerto Leguízamo bound for Puerto Asís, also in Putumayo, crashed for reasons that are still unknown. "The investigation will be rigorous, transparent, and as swift as possible.

The country will know the truth," stated the Defense Minister, who is a retired general from the FAC. According to the …

Initial care for the injured was complicated because health services in Puerto Leguízamo are limited, as it is a municipality disconnected by road from the rest of the country, accessible only by air or by river in an eight-hour journey. For this reason, the FAC sent an ambulance plane and another Hercules C-130 "with a capacity of 50 stretchers for mass transport of the injured," as well as a Casa 295 aircraft with 24 stretchers, according to the commander of the FAC, General Carlos Fernando Silva. A medicalized UH60 helicopter was also sent to transport the injured to closer cities, such as Neiva and Florencia, the capitals of the departments of Huila and Caquetá, respectively.

The accident has sparked political controversy amid the campaign for the presidential elections on May 31 over the cut in the Defense budget, which, according to government opponents, affects the maintenance of military aircraft. "Mr. President, if you dedicated yourself to governing more than campaigning for your party and candidate, you would have timely executed this and other essential government actions to guarantee the safety of our troops, people, and territories," wrote presidential candidate Claudia López on her X account.

The comment was in response to a post by Petro in which he stated that years ago his government decided "to renew the armament of the military forces," but that has not been possible due to "bureaucratic difficulties in military administration.