Today's Edition
LA PAZ (AFP)
At least 15 people were killed Friday when a Bolivian military cargo plane carrying banknotes crashed while landing near the capital city La Paz, authorities said, prompting police to repel bystanders who were grabbing cash.
The aircraft, a C-130 Hercules transport plane, veered off the runway at El Alto International Airport and crashed into an avenue, destroying multiple cars and damaging trucks, local media footage showed.
Mangled parts of the aircraft were seen on the road where the plane came down, as bystanders rushed to try and grab the scattered cash and police tried to repel the crowds with tear gas.
Authorities later set the money alight in a bonfire at the scene of the crash.
It was not immediately known what caused the crash but witnesses said the weather at the time was treacherous.
The Ministry of Defence said it would launch an investigation into the crash.
Bolivia's health ministry reported at least 28 people were injured.
Fatalities were recorded both at the airport and on the busy avenue where the plane crashed and struck several vehicles.
The Bolivian Air Navigation and Airports authority NAABOL said in a statement that the C-130 departed from the eastern city of Santa Cruz and crashed while landing at the international airport, which suspended its operations.
The defence ministry in a statement said that "the money transported in the crashed aircraft has no official serial number... therefore it has no legal or purchasing power."
It said that "its collection, possession, or use constitutes a crime."
The La Paz Prosecutor's Office received reports of looting of businesses by criminals who took advantage of the chaos in the streets.
"Twelve people have been arrested" for questioning, prosecutor Luis Carlos Torres told reporters.
Operations at El Alto International Airport, the second most important in Bolivia, were suspended.
Hospitals in El Alto also launched a blood donation campaign to treat the injured.
