At least 15 killed as cash-laden military cargo plane crashes in Bolivia | Bolivia
At least 15 people were killed when a military cargo plane carrying banknotes crashed near Bolivia’s capital on Friday, damaging about a dozen vehicles on a highway and scattering banknotes on the ground, an official said.
Fire chief Pavel Tovar did not say whether those killed were on the plane or on the highway near the airport in La Paz. He said people were injured.
Footage in the local media shows people running to collect the bills while the police try to disperse them by using tear gas.
The plane, a C-130 Hercules transport plane, skidded off the runway at El Alto international airport, veered along a street and came to rest in a field, local media images showed.
The wreckage of the plane, destroyed cars and corpses were scattered on the road. According to Tovar, at least 15 vehicles were involved in the incident. Fire crews managed to extinguish the flames surrounding the plane.
The Ministry of Defense confirmed the crash without providing further details.
The Bolivian air force plane was carrying new banknotes from the central bank to other cities, and many banknotes were scattered on the ground at the crash site.
Bolivian Air Navigation and Airports authority (NAABOL) said in a statement that the C-130 left the eastern city of Santa Cruz and crashed while landing at the international airport in La Paz, which suspended its operations.
Bolivian Air Force Gen. Sergio Lora said two of the plane’s six crew members had not been found as of Friday, adding that the plane had received its cargo from Santa Cruz.
With Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
