At least 20 people have died and dozens more have been injured after a military cargo plane carrying banknotes crashed while landing near Bolivia's capital, La Paz, on Friday. The aircraft, a C-130 Hercules transport plane, skidded off the runway at El Alto international airport, veered along an avenue, and came to rest in a field, scattering bills across the crash site.
Local media footage showed people rushing to collect the scattered banknotes, prompting riot police to use teargas to disperse the crowds. Authorities later set the money alight in a bonfire at the scene. The defence ministry stated that the money had no official serial number and therefore no legal or purchasing power, warning that its collection, possession, or use constitutes a crime.
The cause of the crash is not yet known, but witnesses reported treacherous weather conditions, including lightning and a heavy hailstorm at the time of landing. Cristina Choque, a 60-year-old vendor whose car was struck by wreckage, described the tyre falling on top of her family, injuring her daughter. She said they remained inside their mangled vehicle for fear of the heaving crowd.
Colonel Rene Tambo, head of the police homicide division in El Alto, confirmed the death toll, while Colonel Pavel Tovar of the National Fire Department gave an earlier estimate of between 15 and 16 dead. Bolivia's health ministry reported at least 28 injured. The plane, belonging to the Bolivian air force, was transporting new banknotes from the central bank to other cities. Two of the six crew members remained missing as of late Friday.
