Puerto Leguizamo crash - Forensic investigators comb wreckage after Aerospace Force disaster kills dozens in southern Colombia

"Forensic officers examined the crash site of the Colombian Aerospace Force plane that crashed in Puerto Leguizamo on Monday. Footage shows investigators carefully sifting through the wreckage, as fragments of the aircraft remain scattered across a wide rural area. "We know that the plane fell exactly in some plots known as the place called Brisas del Cauca, where it actually fell just a few meters from a house, practically between two houses," explained Eduardo San Juan, Commander of Puerto Leguizamo Fire Department. After the crash, the initial rescue was carried out by local residents, including farmers and Indigenous people, who went to the site to rescue survivors and transport them to Maria Angelines Hospital. "The guard barely heard the loud bang, the explosion, we alerted ourselves and prepared to come here to support in any way we could," said a member of the Association of Indigenous Councils of the Siona People (ACIPS). The disaster has left more than 80 injured and 34 dead, while 14 remain in critical condition, according to the latest report from authorities. According to the governor of Putumayo, John Gabriel Molina, 125 passengers were on board the Hercules C-130 aircraft, of whom 112 are members of the Army, two police officers and 11 members of the Air Force. General Carlos Fernando Silva, commander of the Colombian Air Force, reported that the aircraft was covering the Puerto Leguizamo–Puerto Asis route as part of a troop and cargo transport mission. The accident occurred shortly after takeoff, crashing to the ground approximately 1.5 kilometres from the aerodrome. Authorities assured that the aircraft was in airworthy condition and the crew was properly qualified. A King Air aircraft and a UH-60 helicopter carrying medicines were deployed to the crash site, along with aircraft equipped with stretchers and evacuation planes."

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