A military cargo aircraft transporting freshly printed currency went down Friday near La Paz, Bolivia, striking a highway and causing at least 15 fatalities while injuring others, according to officials.
The Hercules C-130 aircraft was carrying newly minted Bolivian banknotes when it “landed and veered off the runway” at El Alto airport, which sits next to Bolivia’s capital city, before crashing into an adjacent field, Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas reported. Emergency crews successfully extinguished the fire that consumed the aircraft.
Fire department chief Pavel Tovar confirmed the death toll of at least 15 individuals, though he did not specify whether the victims were aboard the aircraft or in vehicles on the roadway.
Salinas declined to provide specific casualty numbers and stated that investigators are looking into what caused the accident.
According to Bolivian Air Force Gen. Sergio Lora, search teams had not located two of the aircraft’s six crew members by Friday evening. He noted the plane had been traveling from Santa Cruz in eastern Bolivia after collecting its monetary cargo there.
Social media footage revealed aircraft wreckage, demolished automobiles, and victims along the roadway. Tovar reported that no fewer than 15 vehicles sustained damage in the incident.
The military aircraft had been transporting paper money from La Paz, and online videos showed civilians scrambling to gather the scattered currency at the crash location while riot police worked to clear the area.
Central Bank President David Espinoza confirmed the banknotes had been brought to Santa Cruz from overseas but declined to reveal the monetary value of the cargo being moved.
Airport officials halted all incoming and outgoing flights temporarily following the incident.
