Bolivian navy airplane carrying money crashes close to La Paz, killing a minimum of 15 – Cyber Tech

No less than 15 individuals have been killed Friday, February 27, when a Bolivian navy cargo airplane carrying banknotes crashed whereas touchdown close to the capital metropolis La Paz, authorities stated, prompting police to repel bystanders grabbing money. The plane, a C-130 Hercules transport airplane, veered off the runway at El Alto Worldwide Airport and crashed into an avenue, destroying a number of vehicles and damaging vans, native media footage confirmed.

Mangled components of the plane have been seen on the street the place the airplane got here down, as bystanders rushed to try to seize the scattered money and police tried to repel the crowds with tear fuel. Authorities later set the cash alight in a bonfire on the scene of the crash.

It was not instantly identified what induced the crash however witnesses stated the climate on the time was treacherous. “A heavy hailstorm” was falling and “there was lightning” when the airplane went down, Cristina Choque, a 60-year-old vendor whose automotive was struck by the plane wreckage, advised AFP. “The tire is what fell on high of us… my daughter is injured, she has a head wound,” she added.

The Ministry of Protection stated it might launch an investigation into the crash. Colonel Pavel Tovar of the Nationwide Fireplace Division advised reporters that “between 15 and 16 (lifeless) individuals have been counted” within the catastrophe. “We’re recovering the our bodies of those individuals who have sadly suffered within the accident,” he stated. Bolivia’s well being ministry reported a minimum of 28 individuals have been injured.

Cash seize ‘a criminal offense’

Fatalities have been recorded each on the airport and on the busy avenue the place the airplane crashed and struck a number of autos. The Bolivian Air Navigation and Airports authority NAABOL stated in an announcement that the C-130 departed from the japanese metropolis of Santa Cruz and crashed whereas touchdown on the worldwide airport, which suspended its operations.

The C-130 Hercules – manufactured by Lockheed Martin – was carrying Bolivian banknotes, which scattered upon affect. Footage from native media confirmed police utilizing tear fuel to disperse individuals who approached the crash web site to assemble the cash.

The protection ministry in an announcement stated that “the cash transported within the crashed plane has no official serial quantity… subsequently it has no authorized or buying energy.” It stated that “its assortment, possession, or use constitutes a criminal offense.”

Choque and her household remained contained in the wrecked automobile for concern of being looted by the gang. The La Paz Prosecutor’s Workplace obtained studies of looting of companies by criminals who took benefit of the chaos within the streets. “Twelve individuals have been arrested” for questioning, prosecutor Luis Carlos Torres advised reporters.

Operations at El Alto Worldwide Airport, the second most essential in Bolivia, have been suspended. Hospitals in El Alto additionally launched a blood donation marketing campaign to deal with the injured.

La Paz, at an altitude of three,650 meters (11,975 toes) and surrounded by Andean peaks, is the best administrative capital on this planet.