Scores feared dead as Colombian military plane crashes

Transport plane carrying 125 soldiers and crew crashes shortly after takeoff in southern Amazon region

Scores of Colombian soldiers are feared dead after a military transport plane crashed on takeoff in the south of the country.

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.