BOGOTA, March 24 (Reuters) - A total of 69 people died when a Colombian military plane crashed soon after takeoff earlier this week, the country's armed forces said in a statement on Tuesday, in an incident that injured 57 others.
The Lockheed Martin-built LMT.N Hercules C-130 transport plane was carrying 126 people and crashed after taking off from Puerto Leguizamo, on the border with Peru.
The injured have been transported to various hospitals, the armed forces said in the statement, while the remains of those who died will be identified by forensic officials in Bogota and then returned to their families. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
(Reporting by Reuters)
