At least 66 people were killed and dozens injured after a Colombian military aircraft carrying 125 people crashed shortly after takeoff in the south of the country, officials said.
The U.S.-made C-130 Hercules transport plane went down near the town of Puerto Leguízamo in Putumayo province, close to Colombia’s southern border with Ecuador and Peru.
General Hugo Alejandro Lopez Barreto, head of the Colombian armed forces, said four military personnel were missing.
“Sadly, as a consequence of this accident, 66 of our military personnel died,” he said.
He added that there were no indications the crash was the result of an attack.
Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez said the aircraft struck the ground about 1.5 kilometres (0.9 miles) from where it had taken off, triggering the detonation of ammunition on board and setting the plane ablaze.
Emergency responders were dispatched to the scene and were searching the wreckage for survivors.
Authorities said an investigation into the cause of the crash was underway.