Colombia Military Plane Crash Leads to Over 60 Dead, Several Others Injured
- A military transport plane crashed in Colombia, killing at least 66 people and injuring several others
- The plane was carrying mostly soldiers on a mission in Putumayo, with some people unaccounted for
- Colombia's Defence Minister said the aircraft was a C-130 donated by the US and was overhauled in 2023
A military transport plane carrying 128 people crashed in Colombia on March 24, killing at least 66 people.
The plane, which took off from Puerto Leguizamo on Tuesday, was reported to be carrying mostly soldiers.
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AP reported that the head of Colombia’s armed forces, General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto, said that four military personnel were still missing while several others were injured.
“At the moment, we have no information or indications that it was an attack by an illegal armed group.”
Puerto Leguizamo is located in Putumayo, an Amazonian province that borders Ecuador and Peru.
Colombia’s Minister of Defence Pedro Sánchez said the plane that crashed Monday was transporting troops to another city in Putumayo.
Images shared online by Colombian media outlets showed a black cloud of smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed and a truck with soldiers rushing to the site.
Of the people on the plane, 115 were from the Army, 11 were crew members, and two were from the National Police, with 57 people having been evacuated.
Erich Saumeth, a Colombian aviation expert and military analyst, stated that the Hercules C-130 that crashed on Monday had been donated by the US in 2020.
Three years later, it went through a detailed revision known as an overhaul, in which its engines were inspected, and key components were replaced.
This crash followed an Air Canada plane ploughing into a fire truck while landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport this week, killing two.
The plane, a CRJ 900 model that had about 70 people on board, suffered significant damage, with two crew members said to have died.
Videos of the aftermath of the crash have been shared on X.
Ghana's growing ties with Colombia
This crash in Colombia comes after it had recently deepened ties with Ghana.
The countries signed an agreement to establish direct maritime connectivity between the Port of Tema and the Port of Cartagena.
Source: Facebook
The agreement was signed on March 23 in Bogotá following successful negotiations between the Government of Ghana and its Colombian counterpart.
It marked a major step in strengthening economic ties between the two regions.
The deal was announced by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in a Facebook post.
According to him, the agreement is expected to significantly boost trade between Africa and Latin America.
Plane crashes in Ghana's Tema region
YEN.com.gh also recently reported that Ghana suffered a plane crash of its own after two people died in an incident in Tema on March 16.
The aircraft, designated 9G-ADV, crashed at Oninku Park in Tema Community 1, with the victims identified as Frank and Elijah Donkor.
Frank was a pilot with 15 years of experience, and both were the sons of Elder Frank Donkor Senior of the Hebron Prayer Camp.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
Delali Adogla-Bessa (Head of Current Affairs and Politics Desk) Delali Adogla-Bessa is a Current Affairs Editor with YEN.com.gh. Delali previously worked as a freelance journalist in Ghana and has over seven years of experience in media, primarily with Citi FM, Equal Times, Ubuntu Times. Delali also volunteers with the Ghana Institute of Language Literacy and Bible Translation, where he documents efforts to preserve local languages. He graduated from the University of Ghana in 2014 with a BA in Information Studies. Email: delali.adogla-bessa@yen.com.gh.
The Associated Press (The Associated Press) The Associated Press (AP) is a not-for-profit news agency. The AP operates approximately 240 news bureaus across nearly 100 countries, producing content in English, Spanish, and Arabic.
