Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed the "catastrophic accident" occurred on 23/3 in Puerto Leguizamo, a remote municipality in Putumayo province. This southern region of Colombia borders Peru and Ecuador.

A Colombian transport aircraft burning after crashing on 23/3. *Photo: AFP*.

Air Force Commander Carlos Fernando Silva Rueda stated that 114 people, mainly soldiers, along with 11 crew members were on board. At least 8 people died in the incident, and 77 injured individuals have been rescued from the scene. Rescue efforts are ongoing.

Moment a Colombian transport aircraft took off before the accident. *Video: X/Gustavo Petro*.

Rueda noted that "details about the accident are still unclear, except that the plane encountered a problem and crashed about two kilometers from the airport". To aid the injured, two air ambulance planes with 74 beds were dispatched to the area to transport victims to hospitals.

The aircraft involved was a C-130 Hercules military transport plane. Images from the crash site showed residents gathered around the broken tail section of the aircraft, bearing the registration number FAC 1016, with smoke and flames visible above the treetops.

Military soldiers and residents surrounding the crashed aircraft. *Photo: AFP*.

Local residents reported hearing a very loud explosion. Noe Mota, a local farmer, recounted, "I felt like there was an explosion in the air, and when I looked up, the plane was flying very close to my house on my property."

Putumayo Governor Molina commented in a Facebook video that "the airport is quite small, and we faced many difficulties moving the victims."

The border region has experienced extensive military operations in recent weeks, as Colombian and Ecuadorean forces work to suppress drug trafficking gangs and rebels.

Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez described the accident as "a deeply painful event for the country."

Location of Puerto Leguizamo town. *Graphic: BBC*.

This incident marks the second accident involving a C-130 Hercules transport aircraft in South America in less than one month.

The Hercules is a four-turboprop engine aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin. It is renowned for its ability to operate on unpaved runways and is widely used by militaries globally for transporting personnel and vehicles.

Vu Hoang (According to AP, AFP, Reuters)