Cargo plane carrying money crashes in Bolivia, killing 15
LA PAZ, Bolivia—A cargo plane carrying money crashed Friday near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on a highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said.
Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane was transporting newly printed Bolivian currency when it “landed and veered off the runway” at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to the capital of La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field.
Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft. Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died but he did not clarify if the dead were in the plane or in the cars on the nearby highway.
Salinas did not specify how many people had been killed in the crash and said the cause was being investigated. Bolivian Air Force Gen. Sergio Lora said two of the plane’s six crew members had not been found as of late Friday, adding that the aircraft was arriving from the eastern city of Santa Cruz.
Images on social media showed debris from the aircraft, destroyed cars and bodies scattered on the road. According to Tovar, at least 15 vehicles were damaged.
