BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A military cargo plane crashed shortly after taking off Monday in southwestern Colombia, causing an undetermined number of casualties, the country's defense minister said.

Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said on X that the “tragic accident” occurred in Puerto Leguizamo, a remote municipality in the Amazonian province of Putumayo, which borders Peru and Ecuador. Images shared online by local media outlets show a black cloud of smoke rising from a field where the plane crashed, and a truck with soldiers rushing to the site.

Sánchez did not specify the number of troops who were aboard the Hercules C-130, a plane that can be configured to carry up to 120 people. He said rescue teams had been sent to the site of the crash and that the cause of the accident still hasn't been determined.

“I hope there will be no deadly casualties in this accident that should have not occurred,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro wrote on X.

Petro seized on the accident to promote what he called his long-time campaign to modernize planes and other equipment used by his country’s military, saying those efforts have been blocked by “bureaucratic difficulties” and suggesting that some officials should be held accountable. “If civilian or military administrative officials are not up to the challenge, they must be removed,” Petro said.

Sánchez wrote that the accident was “profoundly painful for the country,” adding that: “We hope that our prayers can help to relieve some of the pain.”

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