Dramatic footage circulating on X appears to show a Colombian military Hercules C-130 transport aircraft crashing shortly after takeoff from Puerto Leguízamo in southern Colombia. The cause of the crash remains unknown, and Colombian authorities have not yet released an official casualty count. 

Local outlet Blu Radio reported that 110 Colombian soldiers were on board at the time of the C-130's straight-out departure from the airport in the remote Amazon border region near Peru.

Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said military units had already reached the crash site but noted that "the exact number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been determined."

Sánchez's translated X post:

Additional footage from the crash area has also surfaced on X.

The Colombian Aerospace Force operates a small Hercules fleet, comprising older C-130B models and newer C-130H variants, with a total inventory estimated at roughly 9 aircraft. The loss of the transport plane represents a meaningful hit to airlift capacity. 

Neither local media nor the government has provided clarity on whether the troops were engaged in a training mission, routine transport, or deployment tied to the escalating border crisis with Ecuador.

The crash comes just one week after Ecuador's Interior Minister John Reimberg deployed 75,000 troops in the South American country to combat drug cartels, while Colombian President Gustavo Petro warned that Ecuador's campaign was spilling over and that Colombia was being "bombed." 

Latest geopolitical report from the region:

The absence of evidence so far is foul play, well, at least in the initial reporting. But given rising tensions between Colombia and Ecuador and the broader crisis over the last week, the region warrants close monitoring.