Search Underway for Four Soldiers Missing After Colombian Military Plane Crash

Tue Mar 24 2026 19:55:42 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

A military Hercules C-130 crashed shortly after take-off in Colombia, resulting in the tragic loss of 66 lives. Rescue operations are ongoing to locate four missing soldiers.

Rescue efforts are intensifying in southern Colombia after a military Hercules C-130 transport plane crashed, killing 66 members of the Colombian security forces. As search teams look for four missing soldiers, President Gustavo Petro criticized outdated military equipment as a potential cause of the accident. Witnesses and local residents played a crucial role in aiding the injured immediately following the crash.

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.

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, saying: This piece of scrap metal was bought in 2020 and came down, let's ask why.

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 defence minister indicated the explosions were from ammunition on board and confirmed there were no signs of an attack by armed groups in the Putumayo region.

This incident marks a troubling period for military aviation as it follows another recent Hercules C-130 crash in Bolivia, which also resulted in fatalities.