Colombia Plane Crash: Search Continues for Four Missing Soldiers

Tue Mar 24 2026 14:57:40 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A tragic plane crash in Colombia has resulted in the death of 66 military personnel and left four missing as rescue efforts are underway in the southern region near the Peru border.

A military Hercules C-130 transport plane crashed shortly after take-off, killing 66 members of the Colombian security forces. Rescue teams are currently searching for four missing individuals among the wreckage. Investigations have begun regarding the cause, with President Gustavo Petro highlighting concerns about outdated military equipment. Eyewitness accounts have described alarming scenes of explosions and flames.

Rescue workers in Colombia are searching for four people who are missing after a military plane crashed in the south of the country. Sixty-six members of the Colombian security forces were killed on Monday when the Hercules C-130 transport plane came down shortly after take-off near Colombia's border with Peru.

Locals were first to the scene, pulling out dozens of injured survivors from the burning wreckage and ferrying them to hospitals on the back of their motorbikes. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident.

A total of 128 people were on board the transport plane, which was headed from the town of Puerto Leguízamo to Puerto Asís. In a series of posts on social media, Colombian President Gustavo Petro appeared to blame antiquated military hardware for the accident. Talking about the victims, but without mentioning the Hercules plane directly, he wrote: This piece of scrap metal was bought in 2020 and came down; let's ask why.

In an earlier post, he blamed bureaucratic problems for holding up his plans to modernize the armed forces' equipment and their aircraft. I will allow no further delays; the lives of our young people are at stake, he wrote.

Mobile phone footage shared on social media showed the plane losing height shortly after take-off, followed by a large plume of smoke rising from the crash site and the sound of explosions. Colombia's defense minister said the sound came from ammunition on board blowing up in the flames. He added that there was no indication that the plane had come under attack from any of the armed groups active in the Putumayo region.

A local farmer reported hearing a loud bang before the Hercules crashed into trees near his home, stating that he felt an explosion in the air as the plane flew close to his property. According to the latest death toll, 58 army personnel, six members of the air force, and two police officers were killed in the crash. This incident marks the second deadly accident involving a Hercules C-130 in as many months, following another crash in Bolivia.