Colombian military plane with 110 soldiers onboard crashes

Bogota - Colombia's defense ministry said on Monday a Lockheed Martin Hercules ⁠C-130 plane was involved in accident in the ⁠south of the country, with ‌local outlet BluRadio ​reporting that 110 soldiers were traveling on board.

Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez said the accident happened as the plane was taking off ​from Puerto Leguizamo, ⁠deep in Colombia's southern Amazon region on the border with Peru, as it transported troops from the armed forces.

"The ⁠exact number ‌of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet ‌been determined," he said.

BluRadio cited authorities as ⁠saying 110 soldiers were on board, and that the crash took ‌place just 3 km (2 ‌miles) from an urban center.

US defense company ‌Lockheed Martin did not immediately respond ‌to a request for comment.

At the end of February, another Hercules C-130 belonging to the Bolivian ⁠Air ⁠Force crashed in the populous city of Alto, barely missing a residential block.

More than 20 people died and another 30 were injured, and banknotes from the plane's cargo scattered around the ​city, prompting clashes between residents and security ​forces.