At least 66 people died, and dozens sustained injuries following the crash of a Colombian military transport aircraft shortly after take-off in the south of the country, according to government officials.
The incident occurred on 23 March 2026 when a Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules, with 128 people on board, crashed approximately 1.5 kilometres from Puerto Leguizamo, near Colombia’s border with Ecuador and Peru.
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The Colombian Ministry of National Defence reaffirmed that no indication points to an attack by “illegal actors”.
Minister of Defence Pedro Sanchez reported that the impact led to the detonation of ammunition on board and set the aircraft on fire.
General Hugo Alejandro Lopez Barreto, head of the Colombian armed forces, stated that four military personnel remain unaccounted for. “Sadly, as a consequence of this tragic accident, 66 of our military elements died,” he said.
Barreto further said: “At the moment, we have no information or indications that it was an attack by an illegal armed group.”
President Gustavo Petro addressed the accident on social media, attributing responsibility to the age and condition of some military equipment.
Without referring to the Hercules directly, he wrote: “This piece of scrap metal was bought in 2020 and came down, let’s ask why.”
In a previous message, Petro cited “bureaucratic problems” as responsible for delays in efforts to upgrade military hardware and aircraft.
He added: “I will allow no further delays, the lives of our young people are at stake.”
The Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules is used for tactical airlift missions and can transport troops, equipment, and oversized cargo such as utility helicopters and armoured vehicles. It can also perform airdrops of up to 42,000 pounds or land cargo on rough terrain.
Colombia reportedly began operating C-130s in the late 1960s and has updated its fleet with newer models from the US in recent years.
The incident in Colombia comes after a separate crash involving a Bolivian army C-130 Hercules on 27 February, which resulted in 24 fatalities.
In that case, the aircraft, which was transporting a shipment of banknotes, overshot the runway during its approach to El Alto airport and collided with vehicles on a nearby highway.
