A Colombian military aircraft crashed, resulting in 66 fatalities.

A Colombian Air Force plane carrying 125 people crashed shortly after taking off in the southern Amazon region of the country on Monday (March 23rd). A senior official confirmed that as of that evening, the air crash had claimed 66 lives, and search and rescue teams were still looking for four missing persons. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Reuters reported that the commander of the Colombian armed forces, Barreto, said that the crashed aircraft was an Air Force C-130 "Giant" transport plane, with 128 people on board, including 11 air force personnel, 115 army personnel and two national police officers. Earlier reports indicated that there were 125 people on board.

Colombian Defense Minister Sanchez posted on the X platform that the plane took off from the Legizamor port on the border with Peru and crashed shortly after, originally destined for the Asis port.

Firefighter Carlejas told the local news agency that it was understood that the plane crashed near the end of the runway when it hit something, and during the descent, one of the wings scraped against a tree. The plane caught fire after crashing and detonated some kind of explosive device on board.

Earlier reports by Agence France-Presse stated that the Colombian Air Force commander, Fernando, said the plane crashed 1.5 kilometers from the take-off site, with the ammunition on board exploding due to the fire. There were no indications of "illegal attacks".

Live footage posted by local media BluRadio showed smoke billowing from the wreckage of the plane. A video showed that the plane crashed to the ground just a few seconds after take-off.