India, March 24 -- At least 66 people were killed and dozens injured after a Colombian Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff near Puerto Leguizamo in southern Colombia, officials said.

Air force commander Carlos Fernando Silva Rueda said the plane was carrying 114 army personnel along with 11 crew members. The US-made Lockheed Martin transport aircraft went down in a rural area of Putumayo province, near the Peru border.

Colombian Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez confirmed the aircraft suffered "a tragic accident while taking off" as it transported security forces, calling the incident "deeply sad for the country."

A military source told AFP that the dead included 58 soldiers, six air force personnel and two pol...