At least 15 dead after plane carrying banknotes crashes in Bolivia
At least 15 dead after plane carrying banknotes crashes in Bolivia
Emily BlumenthalSat, February 28, 2026 at 3:59 AM UTC
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Emergency crews rushed to the scene in El Alto - Getty Images
A Bolivian air force cargo plane carrying banknotes crashed onto a motorway on Friday night, killing at least 15 people.
The Hercules C-130 aircraft “landed and veered off the runway” at an airport in the city of El Alto before coming to a stop in a nearby field, said Marcelo Salinas, Bolivia’s defence minister.
Cash was strewn across the road and police in riot gear were forced to deploy tear gas to repel hundreds of looters.
The plane had been transporting the newly printed currency to the capital La Paz from the eastern city of Santa Cruz in inclement weather conditions before the incident at 6.20pm (10.20pm UK), which damaged 15 vehicles and caused the jet to burst into flames upon impact.
Firefighters were later able to extinguish the blaze, officials said.
Pavel Tovar, the national fire chief, confirmed 15 people had died and a number of others had been injured, but it was unclear if the victims were on board the plane or from the cars on the motorway.
The inferno destroyed cars on the motorway - Getty Images
Mr Tovar said the death toll could rise as police and the Bolivian military carry out rescue operations and recover bodies at the site of the wreckage.
Two of the six members of the aircraft’s crew had not been found as of Friday evening, said Sergio Lora, a general with the Bolivian air force.
Flights to and from the affected terminal of El Alto’s airport were suspended following the incident.
Debris littered the road near the crash site - EPA
Photos from the scene showed the downed jet cracked in half and several of the cars pulverised into hunks of metal and shattered glass, with debris scattered across the road as darkness fell.
Minibuses, vans and a tractor-trailer were among the vehicles hit by the aircraft, Mr Tovar told Bolivian daily La Razon, adding that “there are deceased individuals” amid the wreckage.
Police fought back looters who had attempted to breach the secured perimeter to pick up banknotes. A number of people were seen being escorted away from the wreckage by officers and members of the Bolivian military.
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Mr Tovar said the large mob rushing to scoop up stray bills had hampered rescue efforts, with more than 500 soldiers and 100 police officers required to regain control of the crash site.
Police and military personnel burned the remaining boxes of cash under the supervision of David Espinoza, the president of the country’s central bank, who had travelled to the scene.
Cars were pulverised by the impact of the plane - Getty Images
Mr Espinoza said the banknotes “have no legal value because they never entered circulation”.
He added that the cash arrived in Santa Cruz from overseas, but did not specify the amount of money on board the plane.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
At El Alto’s Hospital del Norte, where many of the victims are being treated, video footage taken by the local ATB television station showed the building’s door adorned with a black bow to symbolise mourning.
An official list of the injured was posted outside the secured gate, where family members had crowded to learn of the status of their missing relatives.
Police fired tear gas to push back looters - AP
El Alto, Bolivia’s second largest city, is only about three miles west of La Paz.
Large parts of South America, including Bolivia, have been affected by heavy rains and flooding this week triggered by the coastal El Nino weather phenomenon.
The government of Peru declared a state of emergency for nearly half of its districts amid intense rainfall, landslides and flooding that have slammed the southern part of the country, just over the border from La Paz.
In Brazil, at least 60 people have died in severe storms in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais.
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Source: “AOL Breaking”
