At least 66 people lost their lives after a military transport plane, carrying 128 people, crashed shortly after take off in Colombia's Puerto Leguizamo on Monday.
The head of Colombia's armed forces, General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto, said that dozens were injured in the incident, adding that four military personnel were still missing.
Local residents rushed to the site soon after realising that a plane had crashed in a field, pulling out bodies and injured persons from the fire-engulfed plane.
A Colombian aviation expert and military analyst, Erich Saumeth, stated that the Hercules C-130 that crashed on Monday had been donated to Colombia by the US in 2020, and had undergone a thorough revision three years later.
Defence minister Pedro Sánchez said that so far there was no indication that the plane was attacked by rebel groups that operate near Puerto Leguizamo.
The plane likely suffered an impact near the end of the runway as it was taking off, firefighter Eduardo San Juan Callejas told Caracol.
Air Force commander Silva also said that two planes, with 74 beds, were sent to the area to fly the wounded persons to hospitals in the capital city, Bogota, and elsewhere.
