At least 66 killed after Colombian military plane crashes in southern Amazon

Transport plane carrying soldiers and crew crashed shortly after takeoff from Puerto Leguízamo, deep in Colombia’s southern Amazon region

A Colombian military transport plane with 121 people on board, mostly soldiers, crashed shortly after takeoff in the country’s south, killing at least 66 people, authorities said.

The defence minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the accident happened as the Lockheed Martin Hercules C-130 plane was taking off from Puerto Leguízamo, deep in Colombia’s southern Amazon region, on the border with Peru, as it transported troops from the armed forces.