Military Cargo Plane Crash in Bolivia Kills 22, Scattered Cash Creates Chaos

A Bolivian military aircraft carrying 18 tons of newly printed currency crashed near La Paz, killing 22 people and injuring 29 others. The crash scattered banknotes across the area, prompting crowds to rush for the money while authorities worked to secure the scene.

LA PAZ, Bolivia – A military cargo aircraft transporting freshly printed currency crashed Friday near Bolivia’s capital city, claiming 22 lives and leaving 29 others wounded, according to police officials who provided updated casualty figures Saturday.

The victims included 12 men, six women, and four children, with one crew member among the fatalities, stated police commander Mirko Sokol. Most of those injured were passengers on public buses traveling in the area where the aircraft went down.

Forensic teams continued working Saturday to retrieve bodies from the crash site. Medical facilities in El Alto, the city near La Paz where the airport is situated, treated the injured survivors.

The Hercules C-130 aircraft was carrying 18 tons of newly manufactured Bolivian banknotes from Santa Cruz in the country’s east when it “landed and veered off the runway” at El Alto airport before coming to rest in an adjacent field, Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas explained Friday. Emergency responders successfully extinguished fires that consumed the aircraft.

Social media footage revealed aircraft wreckage, destroyed automobiles, and casualties along the roadway. Fire department chief Pavel Tovar reported that no fewer than 15 vehicles sustained damage in the incident.

The military transport plane was delivering currency to La Paz when it crashed, and social media images captured people racing to collect scattered bills from the scene. More than 500 military personnel and 100 law enforcement officers attempted to control the crowds, official accounts stated.

To prevent additional theft, police and military forces destroyed the remaining cash containers while Central Bank President David Espinoza observed. Espinoza declared the bills “have no legal value because they never entered circulation,” though he did not elaborate further.

While Espinoza declined to reveal the exact monetary value being transported, he confirmed the banknotes had been shipped to Santa Cruz from overseas before the fatal flight.