PUERTO LEGUIZAMO, PUTUMAYO — A military transport plane crashed shortly after taking off in Puerto Leguizamo, Putumayo, Colombia, killing at least 66 people, according to General Hugo Alejandro López Barreto. The crash occurred on Monday when the aircraft went down about two kilometers from the airport.

General López Barreto said there were 128 people on board the plane, including 115 from the Army, 11 crew members, and 2 from the National Police. Fifty-seven people were evacuated alive from the crash site and were being treated for their injuries in Bogotá and elsewhere, he said.

Four military personnel were still missing after the crash, according to General López Barreto. He said that at the moment, there was no information or indications that the crash was an attack by an illegal armed group.

Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said rescue teams had been sent to the crash site. The plane that crashed Monday was transporting troops to another city in Putumayo, according to the Defense Minister. "This event is profoundly painful for the country. We hope that our prayers can help to relieve some of the pain," Sánchez wrote on X.

The bodies of the victims were taken to the small town's morgue, and the two local clinics treated the injured before they were flown to larger cities. Carlos Fernando Silva said two planes with a total of 74 beds were sent to the area to fly the injured to hospitals in Bogotá and elsewhere.

Images shared online showed a black cloud of smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed and a truck with soldiers rushing to the site. Silva said details of the crash were not yet known, except that the plane had a problem and went down about two kilometers from the airport.

The Hercules CJ-130 was donated to Colombia by the U.S. in 2020 under a cooperation agreement that included two other used Hercules planes. The aircraft underwent an overhaul in 2023 during which its engines were inspected and key components were replaced.

"I don't think this plane crashed because of a lack of good parts," said Erich Saumeth, an aviation expert and military analyst.

Puerto Leguizamo is located in Putumayo, an Amazonian province that borders Ecuador and Peru.