Rio de Janeiro, March 23, (dpa/GNA) – At least eight people were killed when a Colombian military aircraft crashed shortly after take-off in the south of the country on Monday, regional authorities said.
Another 83 people have been reported injured, 14 of them in a critical condition, regional governor John Gabriel Molina Acosta said following a meeting of the emergency response team.
The plane came down a few minutes after taking off from Puerto Leguízamo airport in the Putumayo region near the border with Peru, Defence Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X.
The cause of the accident remains unclear.
Air force commander General Carlos Fernando Silva, said the plane had a crew of 11 and was carrying 114 passengers. That means the fate of more than 30 people on board remains unclear for the time being.
According to the regional governor, most of the passengers were military personnel, but some police officers were also on board.
Videos showing clouds of grey smoke and wreckage have been published on social media.
GNA