34 killed, dozens hurt as Colombian military plane crashes after takeoff

At least 34 people were killed when a Colombian Air Force plane carrying 125 people crashed just after takeoff deep in the country's southern Amazon region on Monday, authorities said.

"Unfortunately, the information is of 34 deaths," Luis Emilio Bustos, the mayor of the nearby town of Puerto Leguizamo, told Reuters.

Jhon Gabriel Molina, governor of the Putumayo department, said in an interview with local news outlet Caracol Noticias that 34 were killed and 21 still to be identified.

The accident occurred as the Lockheed Martin-built Hercules C-130 transport plane was taking off from Puerto Leguizamo on the border with Peru, Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said earlier on X.

The plane hit the ground just one and a half kilometers (one mile) away from where it took off, and ammunition being carried on board detonated as a result of a fire on the aircraft, he later said.

There was no indication of an "attack by illegal actors," and the plane was airworthy with a qualified crew ahead of departure, Sanchez added.

Two military sources told Reuters that at least 57 people had been evacuated alive from the wreckage. According to Blu Radio, the aircraft came down about 3 km from an urban centre. Visuals from the scene showed thick plumes of smoke rising from the crash site.

US defence company Lockheed Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "I hope there are no fatalities in this horrific accident that should never have happened," President Gustavo Petro said in a post on X, in which he criticized bureaucratic obstacles for delaying his plans to modernize the military.

"I will grant no further delays; it is the lives of our young people that are at stake," he said. "If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to this challenge, they must be removed."

Hercules C-130 planes were first launched in the 1950s and Colombia acquired its first models in the late 1960s. It has more recently modernised some older C-130s with newer models sent from the US under a law that allows for the transfer of used or surplus military equipment.

At the end of February, another Hercules C-130 belonging to the Bolivian Air Force crashed in the populous city of El Alto, barely missing a residential block.

More than 20 people died and another 30 were injured, and banknotes from the plane's cargo scattered around the city, prompting clashes between residents and security forces.

(With Reuters, AFP inputs)